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PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION: 


A    MEMORIAL    VOLUME. 


1837-1871. 


"On  sit  apro?,  sv  dco/jct  oi  TToAAoz  ed/iisr-  oi  yap  Ttdvre?  ex  TOV  £vo 
aprov  fj.er£xon£v. —  i  CORINTHIANS  x.  17. 


St 

V 


JSTEW   YORK: 
DE    WITT    C.    LENT    &    COMPANY, 

451    BROOME    STREET. 

1870. 


-P7 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 

DE    WITT    C.   LENT    &    CO., 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of 


New  York 


Stereotyped  at 

THE    WOMEN'S    PRINTING   Housi, 

Cor.  Avenue  A  and  8th  Street, 

New  York. 


PREFACE. 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  in  the  United  States  of  America 
has  reached  an  epoch  in  its  history  that  demands  some  permanent 
and  adequate  record.  A  portion  of  that  record,  not  inappropriate 
or  unwelcome,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  found  in  these  pages.  This 
volume  may  be  considered  a5  a  platform  upon  which  brethren  of 
both  the  former  branches  of  the  church  stand  to  speak  to  us  of 
its  life  and  progress  for  the  past  thirty  years.  Each  enjoys  full 
liberty  to  express  his  own  views  in  the  most  free  and  familiar 
manner.  Upon  questions  hitherto  mooted,  their  language  can 
not  be  expected  to  pleaSieMlP readers,,  nor,  looking  from  different 
points  of  view,  will  it  be  strange  if  there  may  seem  to  be  some 
opposition  in  their  statements.  The  future  church  will,  however,  be 
better  served  if  the  eye-witnesses  of  scenes  that  were  full  of  in 
terest  and  events  that  will  shape  its  destiny  in  other  generations, 
furnish  it  with  their  most  candid  and  sincere  impressions.  The 
army  correspondents,  writing  to  their  public,  each  from  a  differ 
ent  corps,  relate  incidents  that  may  at  first  seem  inconsistent, 
but  which,  when  combined,  serve  to  furnish  the  full  story  of 
a  campaign. 

The  Biographical  Records  have  been  compiled  from  the  best 
sources  of  information,  but  are,  as  it  were,  only  specimens  of  what 
might  be  recorded  to  commemorate  the  worthy  sons  of  the  church. 
Much  valuable  statistical  matter  will  be  found  in  this  volume,  which, 

it  is  thought,  will  be  of  permanent  service  to  its  readers. 

(iii) 


IV  PKEEACE. 

Perhaps  the  illustrations  demand  a  word  of  reference.  They 
have  been  prepared  with  much  care  to  secure  accuracy,  that, 
when  present  interest  in  them  declines,  they  may  serve  as 
mementos  of  the  past.  Excellent  plates  of  several  of  the  ob 
jects  illustrated,  ready  to  hand,  have  been  offered  to  the  pub 
lishers,  but  they  have  engraved  others,  to  secure  uniformity  and 
beauty  to  the  book. 

To  all  who  have  aided  in  the  design  of  this  volume,  by  kindly 
furnishing  materials,  and  by  other  fraternal  co-operation,  the 
thanks  of  the  writers  are  hereby  given. 

They  send  forth  this  little  token  of  their  deep  love  for  the 
church  now  so  happily  united,  with  congratulation  and  prayer. 
May  its  future  officers  and  members  see  a  progress  even  greater 
than  it  has  yet  enjoyed,  that  their  historians,  as  they  review  another 
era,  may  have  reason  to  rejoice  and  to  say  with  them,  "What 
hath  God  wrought!" 

"  Peace  be  within  thy  walls,  and  prosperity  within  thy  palaces. 
For  my  brethren  and  companions'  sakes,  I  will  now  say,  Peace 
be  within  thee." 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HISTORICAL  REVIEW  OF  THE  CHURCH  (OLD  SCHOOL  BRANCH)  SINCE  1837. 
BY  THE  REV.  SAMUEL  MILLER,  D.D 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

HISTORICAL  REVIEW  OF  THE  CHURCH  (NEW  SCHOOL  BRANCH)  SINCE  1837. 
BY  THE  REV.  JONATHAN  F.  STEARNS,  D.D 50 

CHAPTER  III. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  (OLD  SCHOOL  BRANCH).     BY  THE  REV.  WILLIAM 
B.  SPRAGUE,  D.D 103 

CHAPTER  IY. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  (NEW  SCHOOL  BRANCH).     BY  THE  REV.  Z.  M. 
HUMPHREY,  D.D. 196 

CHAPTER  Y. 

THE  REUNION.     BY  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMS,  D.D.,  LL.D.      .        246 

CHAPTER  YI. 

THE  ASSEMBLIES  OF  1869.   BY  THE  REV.  MELANCTHON  W.  JACOBUS,  D.D., 
LL.D. 316 

ADDITIONAL  IMPRESSIONS.   BY  THE  REV.  PHILEMON  H.  FOWLER,  D.D.  406 

CHAPTER  YII. 
THE  RECONSTRUCTION.     BY  THE  REV.  G.  S.  PLUMLEY.         .        .        415 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  FUTURE  CHURCH.    BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  HALL,  D.D.       .        .        461 

APPENDIX. 

I. — STATISTICS  OP  THE  CHURCH  (OLD  SCHOOL  BRANCH)  SINCE  1837. 
BY  THE  REV.  DAVID  IRVING,  D.  D 493 

n.  —  STATISTICS  OF  THE  CHURCH  (NEW  SCHOOL  BRANCH)  SINCE  1837. 
BY  THE  REV.  EDWIN  F.  HATFIELD,  D.D.        .         .         .         500 

m. — BRIEF   SKETCHES  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  "REUNION  COMMIT 
TEE."    BY  THE  REV.  JAMES  H.  M.  KNOX,  D.D.     .        .        504 

IV. — DOCUMENTS,  &o 528 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

I.  —  CERTIFICATE  OF  REUNION  ,    FRONTISPIECE. 


II.  —  OLD   PRINCETON   COLLEGE 


III.  —  COMMUNION  GATHERING  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME  .  25 

IV. —AUBURN  SEMINARY 50 

V.  —  THIRD  CHURCH,  PITTSBURG 75 

VI.  —PORTRAIT  OF  THE  REV.  ASHBEL  GREEN,  D.D.,  LL.D.  103 

VII.  —  CHAIRMEN  OF  THE  REUNION  COMMITTEE  OF  1866  178 

VIII.  —  PORTRAIT  OF  THE  REV.  JAMES  RICHARDS,  D.D.  196 

IX.  — CHURCH   OF  THE  COVENANT,  NEW  YORK          .  221 

X.  —  CONFERENCE  COMMITTEE,  1869         ....  246 
DRS.   MUSGRAVE,   HALL,  ATWATER,   LORD,  WILSON. 

XI.  —  CONFERENCE   COMMITTEE   (Continued}      ...  291 
DRS.  ADAMS,  STEARNS,  PATTERSON,  FISHER,   SHAW. 

(Vii) 


VU1  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGU 
XII. —FIRST  CHURCH,    PITTSBURG 316 

XIII.  —  CONFERENCE   COMMITTEE   (Continued)    ...        406 

MESSRS.    CARTER,   FRANCIS,    GRIER,  DRAKE,  DAY. 

XIV.  — FIRST   CHURCH,    PHILADELPHIA     ....        415 

XV.  —  MODERATORS   OF    1837,   1869,   1870      ....        446 
DRS.   ELLIOTT,  JACOBUS,  FOWLER,   BACKUS. 

XVI.  —  BRICK   CHURCH,    NEW   YORK 461 

XVII.  —  CONFERENCE   COMMITTEE   (Concluded)    ...        477 
MESSRS.   STRONG,  HAINES,  DODGE,  FARRAND,   KNIGHT. 


UNIVERSITY 


01,1)       r  I!  I  N  C  K  T  ON      CO  L  L  K  G  K  . 


w 

\1S 

PRESBYTERIAN  REUNION. 


CHAPTER    FIRST. 

HISTORICAL  REVIEW  OF  THE  CHURCH  (OLD  SCHOOL  BRANCH). 


BY     THE     REV.    SAMUEL     MILLER.    D.D. 


What  proposed.  —  World's  annals.  —  Grounds  of  division.  —  Reconstruction, 
—  Relative  numbers.  —  Controversy  and  Revival.  —  Lawsuit.  —  Advan 
tages  of  the  Old  School. —  Congregationalism. —  Theological  history. — 
Church-boards.  —  Rights  of  ruling  Elders.  —  Westminster  Assembly  and 
Free  Church  of  Scotland.  —  Slavery.  —  Theological  Seminaries.  —  Martyr 
Missionaries.  —  Revival.  —  New  School  South.  —  Southern  opinions.  — 
Rebellion. — Assembly  of  1861. —Old  School  South.  —  Further  testi 
monies. —  Incident  in  1801.  —  Defence  of  the  Assembly's  measures. — 
Declaration  and  Testimony.  —  Action  thereupon  and  defence  of  that  ac 
tion.  —  Result.  —  Invitations  to  Southern  Churches.  —  Review  of  war- 
measures.  —  Miscellaneous  events  and  acts.  —  Proposed  changes  in  the 
Standards.  —  Literary  activity.  —  Prosperity.  —  Church-boards.  —  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions.  —  Reunion :  its  history  and  ground. 

ALMOST  a  third  of  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the 
Old  School  and  the  New  School,  opposing  parties  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  these  United  States,  sepa 
rated,  after  long  controversy,  and  became  distinct  com 
munions.  At  length,  happily  if  the  hopes  and  prayers 
of  many  should  be  fulfilled,  they  have  been  restored  to 
organic  unity.  A  concise  history  of  the  Old  School 
Church,  during  the  period  of  separation,  it  is  proposed 
to  give  in  the  first  few  pages  of  this  volume.  It  will 
be  well  for  the  reunited  body,  if  its  later  party  names, 
like  the  earlier  ones,  Old  Side  and  New  Side,  should 
speedily  die  away  from  the  current,  especially  from  the 
emotional,  language  of  Presbyterians;  though  they 
must  forever  survive  in  history,  and  the  historical  use 
i  (i) 


2  PEESBYTEKIAN    KE  UNION. 

of  them  cannot,  with  reason,  be  deemed  invidious.  Of 
course,  in  what  is  written,  at  this  early  day,  from  a 
point  of  view  in  either  school,  the  warm  glow  of  interest 
and  of  a  reasonable  partiality  will  be  looked  for,  rather 
than  the  clearer  but  colder  light  of  unbiassed  indiffer 
ence. 

This  period  of  about  thirty-two  years  has  been  a 
very  momentous  one  in  the  annals  both  of  the  church 
at  large  and  of  the  world.  It  has  been  marked  by 
extraordinary  progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences :  by 
wonderful  improvements  in  domestic,  agricultural,  and 
manufacturing  machinery;  by  brilliant  discoveries  in 
the  depths  of  old  ocean,  in  the  stellar  universe,  and  in 
the  all-pervading  laws  of  the  physical  forces ;  by  the 
practical  introduction  of  intercontinental  steam  naviga 
tion  and  of  the  magnetic  telegraph,  linking  closely 
together  points  the  farthest  asunder  round  the  almost 
girdled  globe.  Its  record  of  human  enterprise  tells  of 
adventurous  expeditions,  on  one  side  far  toward  the 
North  Pole,  on  the  other  into  the  tropical  mysteries  of 
interior  Africa ;  of  the  ocean  cable,  of  the  Suez  canal, 
and  of  the  Pacific  railroad;  of  the  close  earth,  in 
regions  wide  apart,  greedily  disembowelled,  and  yield 
ing  up  unheard-of  treasures.  These  years  have  wit 
nessed  political  changes,  many  of  them  of  the  greatest 
importance.  The  United  States  have  gained  by  con 
quest,  justly  or  unjustly,  from  Mexico,  a  large  extension 
of  the  national  domain.  A  war  of  almost  unparalleled 
magnitude  has  saved  our  union,  emancipated  and  en 
franchised  four  millions  of  slaves.  The  Emperor  of 
the  French,  attempting  to  interfere  with  our  American 
system,  has  been  disconcerted  by  a  frown,  and  in  wis- 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  3 

dom  dearly  purchased  has  abandoned  the  adventure. 
In  Europe,  France  has  tried  a  republic,  but  fallen  back 
under  the  imperial  Napoleonic  dynasty;  Russia  has 
been  humbled  at  Sebastopol,  but  has  greatly  advanced 
in  civilization  and  power,  and  emancipated  millions  of 
serfs ;  the  larger  part  of  Italy  has  recovered  itself  from 
arbitrary  rule,  and  the  temporal  despotism  of  the  Pope 
is  tottering  —  perhaps  to  its  fall ;  Prussia  has  suddenly, 
by  warlike  achievement,  become  one  of  the  great 
powers,  and  has  well-nigh  realized  the  pregnant  idea  of 
German  unity ;  Austria  has  been  wonderfully  modern 
ized  ;  and  Spain,  having  exiled  her  royal  house,  stands 
hesitating  between  a  republic  and  a  constitutional 
monarchy.  In  benighted  Africa,  Liberia  has  become 
an  independent  state,  with  free  Christian  institutions 
modelled  exactly  after  our  own.  In  slumberous  Asia, 
the  dense  millions  of  China  and  Japan  have  been 
awakened  to  intercourse  with  the  busy,  outside  world; 
and  over  those  of  India,  Great  Britain,  through  much 

7  7  O 

blood  and  suffering,  has  reasserted  her  power,  which 
God  seems  to  overrule  to  such  poor  idolaters  and  wor 
shippers  of  the  false  Prophet  for  good.  To  the  Church 
of  Christ  this  period  has  been  made  specially  interest 
ing  by  the  decline  of  rationalism  in  Germany,  but  its 
spread  in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States ;  by  the 
decay  of  Romanism  in  Papal,  but  its  revival  in  Protest 
ant,  countries,  and  by  striking  indications  that  its 
superstition,  iniquity,  and  blasphemy  are  almost  full, 
seen  in  the  mingled  craft  and  madness  with  which  the 
machinery  of  conferences  and  councils  has  been  re 
stored,  modern  civilization  and  evangelical  religion 
denounced  and  attacked,  and  the  monstrous  dogmas  of 


PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNIOIT. 

the  immaculate  conception  of  Mary  and  the  infalli 
bility  of  the  Pope  unblushingly  promulgated ;  by  the 
discovery  of  the  more  complete  of  the  two  oldest 
known  manuscripts  of  the  Greek  New  Testament ;  by 
the  exodus  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland ;  by  a  spirit 
of  union  and  communion  freshly  and  extensively 
awakened  among  Christians ;  by  wide  openings  of  the 
Papal  and  Pagan  world  to  the  gospel,  its  more  abund 
ant  success,  and  the  wonderful  outpourings  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  by  which,  in  many  lands,  it  has  been  made 
indeed  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 

For  obvious  reasons,  the  division  of  seventeen  years 
between  the  Old  Side  and  the  New  Side  of  the  last 
centuiy  was  of  shorter  duration  than  that  just  now 
healed.  The  amount  of  transient  feeling  excited  was, 
perhaps,  in  the  two  cases,  nearly  equal  —  feeling 
enough  to  rend  the  church  in  twain.  But  much  the 
more  important  have  been  the  differences,  as  to  doc 
trine  and  church  order  alike,  which  have  protracted  the 
separation  of  the  Old  and  New  Schools.  And  without 
a  general  idea  of  these  differences,  we  should  hardly  be 
able  to  understand  the  long  continuance  of  the  division ; 
the  history  meanwhile  of  either  school ;  the  negotiations 
which  have  resulted  in  reunion ;  its  final  terms ;  or  the 
prospects  of  the  reunited  church. 

Affinities  and  a  fraternal  confidence  which  unhap 
pily  time  has  not  increased,  between  Presbyterians  and 
Congregationalists,  had  led  to  an  admixture  of  Congre 
gationalism  in  Presbyterian  judicatories.  The  Old 
School  insisted  that  this  admixture,  as  unconstitutional, 
should  cease.  The  New  School  contended  for  its  tol 
eration  and  extension.  The  Old  School  preferred 


HI3TOKICAL    REVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  5 

strictly  ecclesiastical  agencies  for  conducting  the  mis 
sionary  and  other  general  evangelistic  work  of  the 
church,  urging,  particularly,  the  establishment  of  a 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  The  New 
School  desired,  in  union  with  Congregationalists,  to 
confide  this  work  to  voluntary  associations,  the  foreign 
part  of  it  to  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners. 
Both  professed  to  be  Calvinistic  and  to  "  receive  and 
adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith  ...  as  containing  the 
system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Scriptures ; "  but  they 
differed  seriously  in  judgment  as  to  what  was  essential 
to  that  system,  and,  therefore,  what  departures  from, 
the  formulary  were  consistent  with  such  a  profession. 
The  Old  School  contended  that  certain  errors  utterly 
inconsistent  with  it  were  prevalent  in  the  church ;  for 
the  purification  of  which  they  endeavored  to  visit  with 
discipline  several  prominent  ministers  charged  with 
these  errors.  The  New  School  argued  that  some  of 
the  views  alleged  to  be  erroneous  were  reconcilable 
with  the  Calvinistic  system;  denied  that  the  others 
were  really  entertained  by  the  parties  accused,  or  were 
seriously  prevalent;  and  resisted  the  discipline  pro 
posed.  This  difference  as  to  doctrine  the  Old  School 
uniformly  considered  and  treated  as  by  far  the  most 
serious  difference  between  the  parties. 

The  Old  School  majority  in  the  General  Assembly 
of  1837  having  disowned  four  synods,  as  so  far  Con- 
gregationalized  that  they  could  not  be  any  longer 
acknowledged  as  Presbyterian  bodies,  the  New  School 
commissioners  to  the  Assembly  of  1838,  refused  to 
recognize  an  organization  of  this  judicatory  which  ex 
cluded  representatives  from  the  disowned  constituency, 


6  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUXION. 

and  formed  another,  and,  as  they  claimed,  the  only  true 
Assembly.  This  was  but  the  commencement  of  the 
division.  A  process  of  separation  and  reconstruction, 
necessary  to  some  extent  in  both  schools,  at  once  began, 
which  was  not  completed  throughout  the  two  for 
several  years.  Most  of  the  component  parts  of  the 
former  church  took  up  their  positions  definitely  and 
finally,  at  once,  on  this  side  or  that;  but  some  small 
portions  remained  for  a  while  undecided ;  while  a  few 
made  a  decision  at  first  to  which  they  did  not  ulti 
mately  adhere.  The  whole  process,  though  not  carried 
through  without  much  heat  and  friction,  produced  less 
of  either  than  might  have  been  anticipated.  Appeals 
to  the  civil  courts  for  the  settlement  of  church  disputes 
were  not  of  very  frequent  occurrence.  Here,  a  synod, 
presbytery,  or  congregation,  without  division  or  serious 
difference  of  opinion,  declared  for  the  Old  School  or 
the  New;  there,  such  a  declaration  was  submitted  to 
by  some  persons  under  protest.  Minorities  in  many 
cases  seceded  from  majorities,  and  frequently  claimed 
the  true  succession,  yet  in  general  without  open  strife. 
Ecclesiastical  records  were  usually  retained  by  the 
bodies  whose  adherents  happened  to  have  them  in 
hand.  Legal  right,  real  or  imagined,  often  assumed  at 
first  an  attitude  of  defiance,  yet  in  the  end  yielded  to 
the  spirit  of  Christian  forbearance.  As  usual  in  such 
circumstances,  adherence  to  one  side  or  the  other  was 
not  always  determined  by  a  full,  or  even  predominant, 
approval  of  the  views  or  measures  by  that  side 
adopted. 

The  Old  School  have  always  claimed  to  have  made 
full  provision,  in  1837  and  1838,  for  the  proper  read- 


HISTOKICAL    EEVIEW    OF    THE   CHUECH.  7 

justment  of  the  ecclesiastical  relations  of  all  sound 
churches,  ministers,  and  judicatories  involved  in  the 
disowning  acts;  and,  by  several  measures  adopted  in 
the  latter  year  and  the  next,  they  provided  further  for 
the  minorities  left  in  synods,  presbyteries,  and  congre 
gations,  in  the  church  at  large,  by  the  withdrawment 
of  the  New  School.  Before  any  suit  at  law  had  been 
commenced,  they  recommended,  in  regard  to  property 
questions,  "  great  liberality  and  generosity "  on  the 
part  of  all  their  adherents.  And  after  the  main  suit 
had  resulted  in  their  favor,  they  more  than  intimated 
their  readiness  to  stand  by  the  terms,  as  to  temporal 
interests,  which  had  been  proposed  and  both  parties 
had  approved  in  their  negotiations  for  an  amicable 
division. 

The  exact  relative  strength  of  the  two,  when  they 
separated,  cannot  be  easily  determined.  By  the  statis 
tical  tables  of  1837,  the  whole  number  of  ministers  in 
the  yet  united  church  was  twenty-one  hundred  and 
forty,  of  congregations  twenty-eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
five.  Several  years  elapsed  before  all  these  ministers 
and  congregations  determined  definitely  their  respec 
tive  positions,  and  the  numbers  of  the  two  sides  could 
be  clearly  ascertained.  Moreover,  the  New  School,  in 
1840,  commenced  the  experiment  of  a  triennial  As 
sembly,  their  supreme  judicatory  not  meeting  again 
till  1843.  At  the  latter  date,  they  reported  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty-three  ministers,  and  fourteen  hun 
dred  and  ninety-six  congregations;  the  Old  School, 
fourteen  hundred  and  thirty -four  of  the  one,  two  thou 
sand  and  ninety-two  of  the  other.  By  comparing  these 
numbers,  and  allowing  for  the  natural  increase  of  both 


8  PEESBYTEEIAN    KEUNION. 

bodies  in  six  years,  we  shall  perhaps  come  nearer  to 
their  relative  strength  at  the  separation  than  we  can  in 
any  other  way. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  the  years  of  most 
earnest  controversy,  pending  the  division,  were  years 
of  special  religious  prosperity  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  From  1829  to  1838,  inclusive,  the  statistical 
reports  exhibited  an  unusual  number  of  additions  upon 
profession,  though  the  reports  of  1836,  7,  and  8  were 
less  favorable  than  those  preceding.  And  after  the 
division,  there  was  in  this  respect  no  appreciable  fall 
ing  oil,  in  the  Old  School  communion,  from  the  exhibit 
of  the  years  last  mentioned. 

The  New  School,  to  test  their  claim  to  the  true  suc 
cession,,  and  their  title  to  the  funds  and  institutions  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  commenced  a  suit  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  the  state  by  which 
the  Trustees  of  the  General  Assembly  had  been  incor 
porated.  Three  other  suits  by  commissioners  from 
within  the  bounds  of  the  disowned  synods,  who  had 
been  denied  seats  in  the  Assembly,  were  also  instituted, 
to  test  in  a  different  way  the  principles  of  the  case. 
The  one  first  mentioned,  however,  was  the  only  one 
brought  to  trial,  the  decision  therein  being  regarded 
as  finally  settling,  so  far  at  least  as  the  courts  of 
Pennsylvania  were  concerned,  the  whole  controversy. 
This  trial,  involving  as  it  did  great  interests,  drawing 
together  a  number  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  being  conducted  by  emi 
nent  counsel  on  both  sides,  excited  profound  attention, 
and  was  watched  throughout  its  progress  by  many 
anxious  minds  all  over  the  United  States.  Early  in 


HISTOEICAL    REVIEW    OF   TIIE    CHUECH.  9 

March,  1839,  it  commenced  before  Judge  Rogers  and  a 
jury  at  nisi  prius.  Most  of  the  time  during  its  contin 
uance,  the  court-room  was  crowded  by  eager  spectators 
and  auditors.  One  after  another  called  upon  to  tes 
tify,  a  number  of  them  venerable  clergymen,  put  aside 
"  the  Book,"  with  Puritan  conscientiousness,  and  swore 
with  the  uplifted  hand,  a  form  of  oath  particularly 
solemn  and  impressive.  In  the  crowd  the  question 
was  frequently  asked,  "What  is  the  difference 
between  the  Old  School  and  the  New  ? "  Perhaps  a 
tipstaff  would  assume  for  the  nonce  the  gravity  of  a 
theologian,  and  attempt  to  satisfy  the  inquirer.  "  The 
Old  School  hold  that  whatever  is  to  be  will  be,"  he 
said,  but  broke  down  in  trying  to  reverse  the  proposi 
tion  plausibly.  Under  the  judge's  charge,  sustaining 
the  New  School  in  every  important  point,  the  jury 
gave  a  verdict  in  their  favor.  From  outside  the  bar, 
in  the  densely  packed  courtroom,  rang  forth  a  warm 
burst  of  applause,  which  the  judge  instantly  and 
sternly  suppressed. 

A  motion  for  a  new  trial  was  afterwards  presented 
and  argued,  and  on  the  eighth  of  May  an  anxious 
throng  were  again  assembled  to  hear  the  decision. 
Chief -Justice  Gibson  delivered  the  opinion  of  the  court, 
Judge  Rogers  only  dissenting.  The  judgment  at  nisi 
prius  was  entirely  reversed,  a  new  trial  granted,  and 
the  whole  case  really  settled  in  favor  of  the  Old  School. 
In  silence  the  crowd  dispersed.  Three  years  and  some 
months  later,  the  New  School  quietly  discontinued  the 
suit. 

This  triumph  at  law,  and  consequent  retention  of  the 
general  property  of  the  church,  have  not  uncommonly 


10  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

been  regarded  as  a  signal  advantage  to  the  Old  School, 
and  a  chief  cause  of  their  subsequent  prosperity.  They 
were  beyond  doubt  gainers,  in  character  and  influence, 
by  being  declared  thus  judicially  the  true  Presbyterian 
Church.  But  the  funds  secured  were  a  mere  trifle 
comparatively,  not  amounting  to  half  a  million  of 
dollars,  and  not  equalling  the  aggregate  of  missionary 
and  other  charitable  contributions  of  the  whole  church 
for  two  years  alone  prior  to  the  division.  Moreover, 
they  were  the  funds,  mainly,  of  the  Old  School  theo 
logical  seminaries;  and  three  seminaries,  with  their 
endowments,  out  of  seven,  the  New  School  retained ;  as 
likewise,  in  all  but  a  few  cases,  the  property  of  their 
individual  congregations.  They  had  in  fact  agreed,  in 
the  Assembly  of  1837,  that  an  equitable  division  of  the 
only  general  funds,  to  any  part  of  which  they  could 
lay  just  claim,  would  give  them  less  than  fifteen  thou 
sand  dollars. 

But  advantages  more  important  the  Old  School  re 
ally  enjoyed.  The  separation  was  not  their  act,  and  no 
effort  to  rend  the  body  asunder  gave  them  an  impulse 
in  any  divergent  course.  They  went  on  in  the  even 
way  of  the  standards,  to  which,  in  fact,  they  were  ac 
cused  only  of  adhering  with  too  much  strictness.  Their 
orthodoxy  has  been  scarce  questioned,  however  they 
may  have  been  charged  with  putting  undue  restraints 
upon  liberty.  With  them,  much  the  greater  part  of  the 
period  of  separation  has  been  one  of  steady  progress  in 
the  old  Presbyterian  orbit,  with  only  the  slightest  per 
turbations.  Though  not  quite  all  approving  of  the  acts 
of  1837,  they  have  been  united,  in  an  unusual  degree, 
in  doctrine,  spirit,  ecclesiastical  policy,  earnest  effort  to 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  11 

spread  the  Gospel  under  strict  Presbyterian  forms, 
and  in  the  whole  work  of  the  church. 

It  was  an  advantage,  too,  that  the  Old  School  felt 
themselves  particularly  bound  to  demonstrate  by  spe 
cial  activity  and  zeal,  that  what  they  had  so  earnestly 
contended  for  was  in  truth  for  the  furtherance  and 
prosperity  of  Christ's  kingdom.  To  save  their  own 
credit,  much  more  for  the  glory  of  God,  they  must 
prove  that  Congregational  order  was  no  help  to  Pres- 
byterianism ;  that  church  boards  were  better  than  vol 
untary  associations ;  that  old  Calvinism  was  the  form 
of  doctrine  most  effective  in  producing  genuine  revivals 
and  saving  men. 

The  measures  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  to 
purge  the  church  of  Congregationalism  were  soon  com 
pletely  successful.  The  greater  number  of  those  judi- 
catories  in  which  it  prevailed  to  any  serious  extent 
went  off,  sooner  or  later,  with  the  New  School ;  but  in 
one  w^ay  or  another  the  last  vestige  of  it  disappeared, 
before  long,  from  the  Old  School  body. 

The  theological  history  of  this  division  of  the  church 
for  the  whole  thirty-two  years  of  its  separate  exist 
ence  may  be  presented  in  a  veiy  few  words.  It  was 
left  by  the  separation  in  a  state  of  almost  unprece 
dented  doctrinal  homogeneity.  One  may  well  doubt, 
whether  any  other  Christian  communion  of  equal  size 
has  ever  excelled  it,  as  to  unity  in  the  reception  of  an 
evangelical  creed  of  such  extent  as  the  Westminster 
Confession  and  Catechisms.  Differences  of  opinion,  even 
among  its  ministers,  have,  of  course,  existed ;  but  these 
differences  have  been  comparatively  trifling,  or  of  very 
little  prominence  or  prevalence.  If  in  any  quarter  se- 


12  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

lions  error  lias  been  adopted,  for  the  most  part  it  must 
have  been  kept  secret,  or  have  been  known  to  but  a 
few.  No  agitating  discipline  on  this  ground  has  been 
exercised,  or,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  church  at  large, 
needed.  "Princeton  Theology,"  as  it  has  often  been 
called,  has,  beyond  question,  been  almost  universally 
prevalent  among  the  Old  School.  If  opposing  systems 
must  take  a  modern  nomenclature,  there  may  be  no 
harm  in  making  Princeton  and  New  Haven  respectively 
the  synonyms  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Divinity ;  but  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  text-books  of  Princeton 
have  constantly  been  the  simple  Westminster  symbols, 
and  such  long  and  generally  approved  systematic  pre 
sentations  of  the  Reformed  Theology  as  the  "  Institutio 
Theologize  Elencticse"  of  Franciscus  Turrettin.  Old 

o 

School  men  have  been  slow  to  admit  the  idea  of  any 
possible  improvement  in  the  generally  received  system 
of  gospel  truth.  Recognizing  fully  the  recent  progress 
made  in  Biblical  criticism  and  exegesis ;  the  fact,  too, 
that  from  time  to  time  fuller  and  more  exact  statements 
of  Christian  doctrine  may  be,  as  they  have  been,  elabo 
rated;  and  by  no  means  maintaining  that  any  unin 
spired  man  has  been  wholly  free  from  error;  they 
have,  nevertheless,  rejected  with  singular  unanimity  the 
assumption,  that  any  part  of  the  substance  of  the  gospel 
has  lain  hidden  in  holy  Scripture  until  modern  times ; 
or  that  the  church  of  Christ  has  new  discoveries  to 
make  as  to  the  system  of  truth  in  Jesus.  Of  a  well- 
known  Presbyterian  quarterly  publication,  one  identi 
fied  with  it  from  the  beginning  has  lately  said,  "  It  has 
been  the  honest  endeavor  of  its  conductors  to  exhibit 
and  defend  the  doctrines  of  our  standards,  under  the 


HISTORICAL    KEVTEW    OF   THE    CHUECH.  13 

abiding  conviction  that  they  are  the  doctrines  of  the 
word  of  God.  They  have  advanced  no  new  theories, 
and  have  never  aimed  at  originality.  Whether  it  be 
a  ground  of  reproach  or  of  approbation,  it  is  believed 
to  be  true,  that  an  original  idea  in  theology  is  not  to  be 
found  on"  its  "pages  .  .  .  from  the  beginning  until  now." 
And  this  praise  or  blame  may  be  said  to  have  belonged 
to  the  Old  School  Church  in  general  as  distinctively  as 
to  the  publication  from  which  it  has  been  quoted. 

A  deep  conviction  of  the  church's  duty  to  carry  on, 
through  strictly  ecclesiastical  agencies,  the  work  of 
Foreign  Missions,  had  led  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg,  as 
early  as  1831,  to  organize  itself  for  this  purpose  as  The 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  The  New  School 
had  refused  to  consummate  the  desires  and  plans  of  the 
Old,  by  taking  this  enterprise  under  the  care  of  the 
whole  church;  but  the  Assembly  of  1837  accepted  the 
trust,  establishing  in  New  York  City  The  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  to  which  the  Synod  of 
Pittsburg  immediately  made  a  surrender.  This  result 
greatly  cheered  those  who  had  so  long  labored  for  it, 
and  they  felt  their  solemn  responsibility  to  prove  that 
zeal  for  Christ's  cause,  not  mere  party  spirit,  had  ani 
mated  their  endeavors.  The  first  meeting  of  the  new 
board  was  held  in  Baltimore  in  the  following  October; 
and  it  commenced  its  operations  with  alacrity,  and  with 
most  encouraging  prospects,  which  have  not  proved  de 
lusive. 

According  to  the  plan  of  church  agencies  now  fully 
established,  a  Board  of  Publication  was  appointed  by 
the  Assembly  of  1838,  to  which  was  transferred  the 
property  and  business  of  the  Presbyterian  Tract  and 


14  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

Sabbath-School  Book  Society,  organized  by  the  Synod 
of  Philadelphia  a  few  years  before.  The  Assembly  of 
1839,  the  fiftieth  year  having  now  been  completed 
since  this  supreme  judicatory  had  first  convened,  recom 
mended  the  second  Sabbath  of  December  for  a  semi- 
centenary  celebration,  a  day  of  jubilee  thanksgiving  for 
past  mercies ;  and  the  offering  at  that  time,  by  all  the 
members  of  the  church,  of  gifts  for  the  endowment  of 
the  new  board.  The  fund  raised  reached  the  sum  of 
forty  thousand  dollars.  This  sum,  with  about  twenty- 
eight  thousand  dollars  donated  for  building  purposes  a 
few  years  later,  has  been  the  nucleus  of  all  that  board's 
permanent  property. 

Before  the  division,  two  boards  had  been  organized : 
The  Board  of  Missions,  now  of  Domestic  Missions,  for 
the  home  work,  in  1816  ;  and  in  1819,  The  Board  of  Ed 
ucation,  to  aid  candidates  for  the  ministry ;  both  located 
in  Philadelphia.  These  had  been  fostered  by  the  Old 
School,  while,  as  a  party,  the  New  School  had  pre 
ferred  The  American  Home  Missionary  Society,  and 
The  American  Education  Society,  voluntary  associa 
tions  in  which  Congregationalists  participated. 

The  Board  of  Missions  had,  in  1844,  the  business  of 
church  extension,  or  church  erection,  added  to  its  other 
operations.  This  was  carried  on  by  a  special  commit 
tee,  which,  ten  years  afterward,  for  greater  effect,  was 
enlarged.  But  in  1855,  an  independent  Committee  of 
Church  Extension  was  established  at  St.  Louis,  the 
name  of  which  was  changed,  in  1860,  to  that  of  the 
Board  of  Church  Building,  then  the  Board  of  Church 
Extension. 

In  1845,  after  several  years'  agitation  of  the  subject, 


HISTORICAL    EEVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  15 

the  Assembly  directed  the  Board  of  Missions  to  appoint 
an  Executive  Committee  at  Louisville,  furnished  with 
a  secretary  and  other  officers,  co-ordinate  with  the  Ex 
ecutive  Committee  at  Philadelphia,  and  to  have  the 
care  of  the  western  and  south-western  fields.  In  1859, 
a  South-western  Advisory  Committee,  with  a  district 
secretary  at  New  Orleans,  was  ordered,  and  the  next 
year  a  similar  Committee  of  the  Pacific  Coast  at  San 
Francisco;  but  in  1862,  all  this  additional  machinery 
was  discontinued,  as  cumbersome,  expensive,  and  un 
profitable,  and  the  management  placed  upon  its  pre 
vious  simpler  footing. 

The  sphere  of  the  Board  of  Education  was  enlarged, 
in  1846  and  the  two  years  following,  so  as  to  include 
the  assistance  and  care  of  Presbyterian  colleges,  acade 
mies,  and  primary  schools,  a  part  of  its  work  which  has 
grown  constantly,  though  not  rapidly. 

Two  other  departments  of  Christian  liberality  and 
effort  have  been  committed  to  similar  agencies.  For 
more  than  a  century  and  a  half  the  Presbyterian 
Church  has  systematically  raised  funds  for  the  relief 
of  disabled  ministers  and  their  families.  But,  in  1849, 
the  General  Assembly  ordered  collections  for  this  pur 
pose  to  be  disbursed  by  the  Board  of  Publication,  a 
business  transferred  in  1852  to  its  own  trustees;  and 
in  1861  a  secretary  was  appointed  to  devote  his  time 
mainly  to  this  enterprise,  which  has  since  more  pros 
perously  advanced.  In  1864,  the  condition  of  the 
Freedmen  at  the  South  demanding  immediate  atten- 

O 

tion,  two  committees,  one  in  Philadelphia,  the  other 
in  Indianapolis,  were  appointed  to  take  charge  of 
educational  and  general  evangelistic  work  among  this 


16  PEESBYTEEIAN   REUNION. 

class ;  and  the  next  year,  in  place  of  the  two,  a  single 
Committee  on  Freedmen  was  established  and  located 
at  Pittsburg. 

In  1840,  the  Assembly  determined  that  an  efficient 
system  of  agencies,  by  which  the  churches  should  be 
visited  from  year  to  year,  was,  in  the  existing  condi 
tion  of  Christian  feeling  and  knowledge  on  the  subject 
of  benevolent  operation,  absolutely  indispensable.  But 
gradually  that  system  has  passed  away,  yet  the  lib 
erality  of  the  churches  has  greatly  increased.  This 
result  has  been  attained  in  part  through  a  standing 
committee  on  Systematic  Benevolence,  appointed  first 
by  the  Assembly  of  1854,  and  reporting  every  year. 
Although  many  congregations  yet  fail  of  making  regu 
lar  contributions  to  every  scheme  of  the  church,  the 
plan  of  striving  to  cultivate  in  ecclesiastical  judica- 
tories  and  individual  Christians  a  sense  of  their  respon 
sibility,  and  leaving  the  matter  with  them,  has  proved 
in  such  a  degree  effectual,  that  any  system  of  special 
agencies  for  the  collection  of  ordinary  benevolent  con 
tributions  would  now  find  little  remaining  favor. 

In  1842,  the  Assembly  gave  a  unanimous  decision 
that  ruling  elders  should  not  lay  on  hands  in  the  ordi 
nation  of  ministers ;  yet  afterward  the  matter  was  laid 
over,  in  mere  courtesy,  for  the  action  of  the  next 
Assembly,  in  which  was  also  agitated  the  question, 
whether  there  could  be  a  quorum  of  presbytery  or 
synod,  without  the  presence  of  any  ruling  elder.  A  con 
troversy  on  these  subjects,  carried  on  for  several  years 
in  ecclesiastical  judicatories  and  in  periodical  and  other 
publications,  excited  no  little  interest.  The  office  of 
ruling  elder  has  been  regarded  almost  unanimously,  in 


HISTOKICAL    REVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  17 

the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  of  divine  appointment,  but 
with  a  considerable  latitude  of  opinion  as  to  its  exact 
Scriptural  warrant,  and  its  relations  to  the  office  of  the 
preaching  elder.  On  these  points  at  least  four  distinct 
theories  have  been  propounded.  (1.)  One  is,  that  the 
term  elder  in  the  New  Testament,  as  applied  to  Chris 
tian  ecclesiastics,  is  used  only  to  designate  ministers  of 
the  word  and  sacraments,  who  are  also,  as  universally 
admitted,  rulers  in  the  most  general  sense,  including 
all  ecclesiastical  functions.  The  scriptural  words  then 
designating  those  now  called  ruling  elders  are  such  as 
rulers  and  governments.  The  other  theories  all  agree 
in  the  supposition,  that  the  same  New  Testament  term 
includes  both  the  ruling  and  the  preaching  elders  of 
our  day,  but  from  this  common  starting  point  diverge 
widely.  (2.)  One  of  the  three  supposes  two  orders  of 
elders ;  that  is,  two  kinds  distinguished  by  ordinations 
essentially  different.  The  two  remaining  theories  alike 
represent  all  elders  as  of  exactly  the  same  order  or 
ordination;  but  (3)  one  of  them  supposes  all  to  be 
fundamentally  rulers,  and  the  office  of  preaching  to  be 
a  mere  superadded  function  or  gift;  while  (4)  the 
other  makes  all  fundamentally  ministers  of  the  word', 
the  fact  that  some  do  not  much  addict  themselves  to 
this  ministry  being  due,  in  part  to  a  wrongful  ordina 
tion  of  incompetent  persons,  in  part  to  an  allowable 
diversity  of  service.  The  latter  two  theories  seem  to 
have  been  confined  pretty  much  to  this  country.  Dr. 
Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  Dr.  Thornwell,  and  others  who 
maintained  either  of  them,  naturally  enough  contended 
that  ruling  and  preaching  elders  alike  should  unite  in 
presbyterial  ordinations.  They  argued,  moreover,  that 

2 


18  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

as  ordination  was  an  act  of  presbytery,  participation 
in  every  part  of  it  was  the  right  of  every  member  of 
presbytery.  It  was  rather  inconsistent  with  either  of 
these  theories  to  maintain,  that  without  the  presence 
of  one  or  more  ruling  elders  no  church  court  could  be 
properly  constituted;  but  Dr.  Breckinridge  and  other 
advocates  of  the  latter  doctrine  based  it  chiefly  upon 
certain  expressions  in  the  form  of  government.  The 
ready  reply  was  that  these  expressions  had  received  an 
authoritative  interpretation  to  the  contraiy  by  imme 
morial  and  nearly  uniform  and  unquestioned  practice. 
Against  any  innovation  upon  that  practice  very  large 
majorities  decided  in  both  1843  and  1844 ;  and  this 
quieted  the  agitation  of  the  subject. 

Of  a  later  date,  in  the  Old  School  Church,  and  of 
much  less  notoriety,  has  been  the  question,  whether 
ruling  elders  may  be  elected  to  serve  for  a  limited  time 
—  one  year  or  a  term  of  years.  The  Assembly  of 
1835  had  condemned  such  an  election;  but  recent 
tactitians  having  devised  plans  for  turning  the  flank 
of  both  the  supreme  judicatory  and  the  form  of  gov 
ernment  at  this  point,  they  met  with  a  more  decisive 
check  in  the  Assembly  of  1869. 

The  year  1843  was  the  two  hundredth  since  the  first 
meeting  of  the  ever-memorable  Westminster  Assembly 
of  Divines,  and  it  was  made  itself  memorable  by  the 
thrilling  exodus  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  The 
Old  School  Assembly  of  the  previous  year  had  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  mature  a  plan  for  a  bi-centen- 
nial  commemoration,  in  which  other  Presbyterian 
bodies  also  might  be  interested.  Now  it  was  resolved 
to  recommend  a  more  general  indoctrination  of  both 


HISTORICAL    EEVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  19 

young  and  old  in  the  Westminster  standards,  and  in- 
struction  by  pastors,  on  the  first  of  July,  the  anniver 
sary  of  the  assembling  of  the  divines,  or  at  some  other 
convenient  time,  in  the  history  of  the  church's  strug 
gles  and  sufferings  for  the  maintenance  of  gospel 
faith  and  order.  A  resolution  of  sympathy  with 
that  portion  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  which  was 
contending  and  bearing  reproach  for  the  truth's  sake, 
was  also  adopted.  A  few  weeks  afterward,  intelli 
gence  came  of  the  secession  from  that  church  of  four 
hundred  and  seventy  ministers,  with  about  six  hundred 
congregations,  two  thousand  ruling  elders,  and  at  least 
one  million  of  worshippers.  "Since  the  Act  of  Uni 
formity,"  it  was  well  said,  "there  had  been  no  such 
public  and  general  sacrifice  of  interest  to  principle,  and 
it  could  not  fail  to  secure  the  approbation  and  admira 
tion  of  the  Christian  world."  The  seceding  ministers 
relinquished  yearly  stipends  amounting,  in  the  aggre 
gate,  to  about  half  a  million  of  dollars,  and  tfce  people 
their  places  of  worship  —  the  church  homes,  where 
their  fathers  before  them,  for  many  generations,  had 
called  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  and  waited  for  his 
word.  The  next  year,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  George  Lewis 
and  William  Chalmers  appeared  in  the  Assembly  as 
representatives  from  the  Free  Church,  of  which  they 
gave  most  interesting  and  soul-stirring  accounts;  and 
resolutions  of  the  warmest  welcome  and  sympathy 
were  passed.  Contributions  also,  to  aid  the  Free 
Church,  were  recommended.  Other  delegates,  among 
whom  were  Dr.  Cunningham  and  Dr.  Burns,  subse 
quently,  by  their  public  addresses,  extended  this  glow 
of  sympathy  all  over  the  land.  It  may  here  be  added, 


20  PRESBYTEEIAN   EEUNION. 

that  out  of  the  bi-centenary  commemoration  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly,  at  Edinburgh,  in  July,  1843, 
grew  the  Evangelical  Alliance  formed  in  August,  1846. 
The  subject  of  slavery  had  for  many  years,  in  some 
degree,  agitated  the  church ;  but  the  General  Assembly 
had  taken  thereupon  no  decided  action  between  1818 
and  1845.  In  the  latter  year,  by  a  vote  of  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty-eight  to  thirteen,  an  important  minute 
was  adopted,  which  itself  became,  at  once,  a  matter  of 
more  or  less  dispute.  Extreme  abolitionists  and  extreme 
pro-slavery  men  alike,  the  former  with  chagrin,  the 
latter  with  exultation,  maintained  that  it  virtually  an 
nulled  the  action  of  1818 ;  which,  though  unanimously 
approved  then  by  the  southern  as  well  as  the  northern 
commissioners,  had  condemned  slavery  as  "a  gross  vio 
lation  of  the  most  precious  and  sacred  rights  of  human 
nature,"  and  declared  it  to  be  "  the  duty  of  all  Chris 
tians  ...  to  use  their  honest,  earnest,  and  unwearied 
endeavors  ...  as  speedily  as  possible,  to  efface  this 
blot  on  our  holy  religion,  and  to  obtain  the  complete 
abolition  of  slavery  throughout  Christendom."  But 
by  the  church  at  large  the  deliverance  of  1845  has 
been  constantly  understood  to  deny  only  certain  unjus 
tifiable  inferences  from  that  of  1818,  particularly  that 
slave-holders  ought  to  be  excluded  from  membership  in 
the  visible  church  of  Christ.  The  doctrine  of  the  Old 
School,  from  first  to  last,  consistently  was,  that  slavery 
was  a  great  evil,  which,  as  soon  as  it  might  be  safely, 
ought  to  be  abolished ;  that  slave-holding,  however,  was 
not  always  or  necessarily  a  sin ;  but  that  masters  ought 
faithfully  to  give  to  their  servants  "that  which  was 
just  and  equal,"  seeking  diligently  their  improvement 


HISTOKICAL   KEVTEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  21 

and  preparation  for  freedom.  The  doctrine,  advanced 
chiefly  in  later  times,  and  which  found  some  advocates 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  the  South,  that  slavery, 
like  the  family  relation,  was  a  divine  institution,  was 
never  at  all  countenanced  by  the  church  at  large ;  but 
was  virtually  and  decisively  condemned,  over  and  over 
again,  in  several  well  considered  and  unanimously  or 
almost  unanimously  approved  deliverances.  In  1846, 
the  Assembly's  previous  action  was  declared  consistent 
throughout,  and  all  that  was  needed ;  a  declaration 
which  in  substance  was  reiterated  in  1849. 

But  ultra  men  from  the  North  or  South  were  not  the 
only  ones  that  troubled  the  church  about  this  matter. 
It  was  pressed  upon  the  Assembly  with  strong  determi 
nation,  and  occasionally,  in  the  view  of  many,  with 
severe,  if  not  unchristian  expression,  in  its  foreign  cor 
respondence.  The  Irish  General  Assembly,  in  particu 
lar,  took  upon  itself  the  office  of  rebuke,  which  led,  in 
1854,  to  a  suspension  of  intercourse  with  that  body,  a 
letter  from  which  it  was  resolved  not  to  answer. 

During  the  whole  protracted  controversy  on  this  sub 
ject,  the  General  Assembly  continued  to  enjoin,  from 
time  to  time,  upon  the  southern  churches,  increased  at 
tention  to  the  moral  and  religious  improvement  of  the 
slaves;  and  particularly  from  1845  to  1861,  we  find  in 
its  narratives  of  the  state  of  religion  frequent  accounts 
of  diligent  efforts  and  good  success  in  this  great  work. 
The  importance  of  those  efforts,  as  a  providential  pre 
parative  for  emancipation,  can  scarcely  be  overesti 
mated.  The  Boards  of  Domestic  Missions  and  Educa 
tion  were  heartily  interested  and  engaged  in  them ;  the 
former,  while  that  distinguished  Georgian,  the  Rev.  Dr. 


22  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

C.  C.  Jones,  was  its  secretary,  to  an  unusual  degree  and 
with  the  happiest  effect.  No  man  better  than  he  un 
derstood  the  demands  of  evangelical  work  among  the 
slave  population  of  the  South;  for  he  had  spent  his 
ministerial  life  in  it,  and  published  several  important 
volumes  as  the  fruit  of  his  long  experience.  Speaking 
of  the  improvement  of  this  class,  the  Assembly  con 
vened  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in  1855,  said  in  its  narra 
tive,  "  In  few,  if  any  of  our  Southern  States,  are  laws 
enforced  forbidding  that  slaves  be  taught  to  read. 
Usually,  as  far  as  among  any  other  class,  Sabbath 
schools  are  sustained  for  their  instruction.  .  .  .  And  we 
believe  ourselves  to  be  speaking  the  language  of  sober 
truth,  when  we  say  there  are  in  our  southern  churches 
thousands  of  slave-owners,  whose  desire  and  effort  is  to 
prepare  those  whom  an  inscrutable  providence  has  cast 
upon  their  care,  for  a  state  of  liberty  and  self-control 
they  cannot  yet  enjoy;  and  whose  fervent  prayer  is, 
that  God  would  hasten  the  day  of  safe  and  salutary 
freedom  to  men  of  every  clime." 

It  is  a  significant  fact,  that  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves  by  military  and  civil  authority  in  1863  and  af 
terward,  with  the  general  rejoicing  over  this  great 
event  at  the  North,  and  the  fervor  of  thanksgiving 
which  it  excited,  did  not  render  it  necessary  for  the 
Old  School  Church  to  rescind  or  modify  one  of  its  de 
liverances  upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  It  is  believed 
that  those  deliverances  express  its  mind  at  the  present 
time  as  truly  as  they  ever  did.  And  when  the  Assem 
bly  of  1864  was  called,  in  God's  providence,  to  frame  a 
minute  expressive  of  its  sentiments,  in  view  of  the 
emancipation  decreed  by  our  national  government,  all 


HISTORICAL    EEVIEW    OF   THE    CHUECH.  23 

the  grand  abiding  principles  of  that  minute  were 
quoted  carefully  from  its  own  previous  utterances. 
Yet  the  paper  fully  satisfied  the  public  mind,  even  at  a 
moment  of  the  greatest  excitement  and  clamor.  Hap 
pily  this  whole  subject  seems  to  have  been  put,  in 
.God's  goodness,  beyond  the  possibility  of  further  dis 
turbing  the  church's  peace. 

Sometimes  it  has  been  intimated,  that  pro-slavery 
tendencies  on  the  part  of  the  Old  School  were  among 
the  most  influential  causes  of  the  division  of  1838.  No 
allegation  could  be  more  entirely  opposed  to  historical 
truth.  A  careful  reading  of  all  the  official  documents 
of  that  time,  when,  too,  crimination  and  recrimination 
were  loosely  prevalent,  will  not  disclose  the  slightest 
hint  of  such  a  charge  from  any  quarter.  Nay,  the  As 
sembly  of  1835,  in  which  there  was  a  decided  Old 
School  majority,  appointed  a  committee  to  report  upon 
slavery;  but  the  Assembly  of  1836,  in  which  the  New 
School  had  altogether  their  own  way,  postponed  the 
whole  subject  indefinitely  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  to  eighty-seven. 

When,  in  1812,  the  first  theological  seminary  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  was  established  at  Princeton, 
there  was  a  very  general  sentiment  in  favor  of  concen 
trating  the  resources  of  the  whole  church  in  a  single 
thoroughly  equipped  institution.  Even  then,  however, 
the  advocates  of  this  plan  encountered  a  few  warm  op- 
posers  ;  and  these,  with  the  increase  of  Presbyterian- 
ism,  and  its  spread  over  a  constantly  widening  territory, 
grew  so  numerous  and  powerful  as  to  change  altogether 
the  policy  of  the  church  in  this  respect.  In  favor  of 
the  multiplication  of  seminaries  have  been  urged,  the 


24  PEESBYTEEIAK   EEUNION. 

cost  to  students,  in  time  and  money,  of  travelling  to  dis 
tant  parts  of  the  land ;  the  advantage  of  interesting  the 
denomination  more  generally  in  theological  education 
and  the  increase  of  the  ministry ;  the  undue  influence 
which  might  be  exerted  by  theological  professors,  if  the 
training  of  the  church's  candidates  were  committed  to 
but  a  few,  and  the  evil  —  a  special  benefit  as  it  was  once 
considered  —  of  casting  all  in  one  mould ;  the  fact  that 
an  education  at  the  North  or  East  unfitted  persons 
sometimes,  to  labor  in  the  South  or  West,  particularly 
in  slave  states  ;  and  the  danger  that  young  men  going 
far  away  from  home  to  pursue  their  studies  would 
never  return,  or  that,  at  least,  churches  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  the  divinity  school  would  attract  and  retain 
the  ablest  of  them.  The  new  policy  of  multiplying 
such  schools  had  so  far  prevailed  prior  to  the  division 
in  1838,  that  about  half  a  score  of  them  were  already 
more  or  less  actively  competing  for  the  patronage  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  Of  these,  the  Seminary  at  Prince 
ton  and  the  Western  Seminary  at  Allegheny  were  un 
der  the  immediate  care  of  the  General  Assembly ;  Union 
Seminary  in  Virginia,  that  at  South  Hanover,  afterward 
at  New  Albany,  and  that  at  Columbia,  South  Carolina, 
under  immediate  synodical  supervision ;  and  Auburn 
Seminary,  Lane  Seminary  at  Cincinnati,  and  Union  Sem 
inary  in  New  York  City,  New  School  institutions,  under 
the  control  of  Synod,  or  of  their  respective  corporations. 
In  1853,  the  subject  of  another  seminary  for  the  West 
was  brought  before  the  Assembly  by  numerous  over 
tures  and  proposals.  All  parties  seemed,  at  first,  to 
be  agreed,  that  the  new  institution  should  command 
the  whole  patronage  of  the  Old  School  body  west  of 


A  COMMUNION  GATHERING   IN   THE  OLDEN  TIME. 


HISTOKICAL    EEVIEW    OF   THE    CHUECH.  25 

the  appropriate  limits  of  that  at  Allegheny.  As  to  its 
location  there  was  great  diversity  of  opinion.  Of  six 
places  named,  three  only,  however,  came  into  active 
competition,  —  New  Albany,  Saint  Louis,  and  Danville. 
Danville  was  at  length  fixed  upon  by  a  decided  ma 
jority  ;  but  its  selection  was  regarded  as  an  abandon 
ment  of  the  idea  of  a  single  institution  for  the  West : 
it  was  at  once  quite  apparent  that  the  North-west  could 
not  be  satisfied  with  a  seminary  so  far  south.  Besides, 
personal  energy,  influence,  and  zeal,  rather  than  the  true 
relations  and  wants  of  different  sections,  seemed  to 
have  given  the  triumph  to  Danville.  The  school  at 
New  Albany,  therefore,  which  was  to  have  been  merged 
in  the  new  one, was  continued  under  synodical  manage 
ment,  and  any  intention  to  interfere  with  it  was  dis 
claimed  by  the  next  Assembly.  In  1856,  the  Synods 
having  it  in  charge  resolved  upon  its  removal  to  Chi 
cago  ;  and  a  want  of  harmony  among  its  friends,  with 
the  munificent  offer  of  Mr.  C.  H.  McCormick  to  endow 
it  with  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  provided  it 
should  be  permantly  located  at  Chicago  and  put  under 
the  control  of  the  General  Assembly,  determined  them 
to  apply  to  the  latter  to  take  it  in  charge.  A  consider 
able  endowment  was  also  promised,  if  the  institution 
should  be  fixed  at  Indianapolis ;  but  the  advocates  of 
Chicago  prevailed  by  a  very  large  majority.  Here  the 
Presbyterian  Seminary  of  the  North-west,  as  it  was 
named,  has  since  had  its  location.  With  the  churches 
of  the  South,  when  they  seceded,  the  institutions  in  Vir 
ginia  and  South  Carolina  of  course  remained.  Four 
theological  seminaries,  therefore,  all  under  the  control 
of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Old  School  bring  into  the 


26  PEESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

reunited  church.  That  at  Princeton  celebrated  in 
1862,  with  appropriate  observances,  its  fiftieth  anni 
versary. 

The  few  years  immediately  preceding  the  Southern 
Rebellion  were  years  of  special  activity  and  prosperity, 
though  not  without  apprehensions,  difficulties,  and  trials, 
in  the  Old  School  Church.  In  June,  1857,  eight  be 
loved  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  in  North 
ern  India,  —  Messrs.  Freeman,  Campbell,  Johnson,  and 
McMullin,  and  their  wives,  with  two  little  children, 
Willy  and  Fanny  Campbell, — fell  by  the  cruel  hands  of 
the  notorious  Nana  Sahib  and  the  Sepoy  mutineers. 
Money  was  freely  offered  for  their  release  and  that  of 
other  captives  by  a  rich  gentleman  among  the  latter. 
"  It  is  blood  we  want,  not  money,"  was  the  reply.  For 
Christian  blood,  indeed,  the  poor  heathen  were  thirst 
ing.  With  the  faith  of  true  martyrs,  these  devoted  men 
and  women  yielded  up  their  lives.  The  intelligence  of 
the  complicated  horrors  of  that  rebellion  thrilled 
deeply  and  powerfully  the  hearts  of  God's  people  in 
this  and  other  lands.  Here,  upon  its  reception,  days  of 
special  prayer  were  widely  observed,  and  supplication 
for  India  seemed  to  be  the  spontaneous  utterance  of  the 
whole  church.  In  God's  good  providence  and  faithful 
remembrance  of  his  covenant,  the  mutiny  was  arrested, 
and  a  wider  door  of  usefulness  than  ever  before  was 
opened  in  that  benighted  land ;  while  in  this  country, 
especially  during  the  fall  and  winter,  most  of  the  evan 
gelical  churches,  the  Old  School  Church  among  the  rest, 
were  graciously  and  signally  revived  and  increased. 
The  Fulton-street  daily  prayer-meeting  in  New  York, 
the  forerunner  and  model  of  many  of  a  similar  kind, 


HISTOBICAL    EEVEEW    OF   THE    CHUECH.  27 

was  established.  The  glad  tidings  flew  across  the 
ocean,  and  a  remarkable  "  Year  of  Grace  "  was  vouch 
safed  to  the  churches  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
But,  before  these  had  felt  the  Spirit's  breath,  our  sur 
viving  missionaries  in  Northern  India  had  been  aroused 
by  the  good  news  from  America;  and  after  much 
prayer  and  a  blessed  refreshing,  they  had  recommended 
the  devotion,  in  every  land,  of  a  week  in  January,  1860, 
to  united  supplication  for  a  lost  world.  The  Evangeli 
cal  Alliance  heartily  endorsed  the  suggestion,  and  hence 
the  "  Week  of  Prayer "  since  so  generally  observed. 
Thus  again  became  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  the  seed 
of  the  church. 

The  gracious  revivals  mentioned,  which  but  little 
prevailed  south  of  what  are  now  known  as  the  Border 
States,  were  a  merciful  preparation  for  the  dread  life- 
struggle  which  followed.  And  already,  in  both  church 
and  state,  the  mutterings  of  the  fearful  storm  were 
heard.  The  southern  commissioners  to  the  New  School 
General  Assembly  of  1857,  offended  by  its  anti-slavery 
action,  called  a  convention,  the  result  of  which  was  the 
subsequent  organization  of  the  United  Synod  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America. 
Such  men  as  Dr.  F.  A.  Eoss  and  Dr.  A.  H.  H.  Boyd 
were  opposed  to  a  proffer  of  union  with  the  Old 
School,  against  which  various  reasons  were  urged; 
among  these,  the  "  exscinding  acts  "  unrepented  of ;  the 
examination  of  applicants  to  presbytery ;  very  serious 
doctrinal  differences  as  to  original  sin,  the  atonement, 
and  other  points ;  the  denial  of  each  one's  right  to  in 
terpret  the  Confession  of  Faith  for  himself ;  and,  above 
all,  blind  persistence  in  the  "  toleration  theory  "as  to 


28  PEESBYTEEIAE"   EEUNION. 

slave-holders,  in  spite  of  the  discovery  by  certain 
southern  illuminati  that  slavery  was  a  permanent 
divine  ordinance.  The  proffer,  nevertheless,  was  at 
length  unanimously  made,  upon  certain  "  indispensable 
terms,"  which,  however,  the  Old  School  Assembly  of 

1858  decided,  did  "  not  afford  a  basis  of  conference  " 
promising  the  advancement  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
or  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.     In  1863,  the  Synod 
was  invited  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby 
terian  Church  in  the  Confederate  States  to  a  negotia 
tion,  which  resulted,  the  next  year,  in  a  union  between 
the  two  bodies,  under  the  name  of  the  latter. 

Extreme  southern  opinions  were  now  overbearingly 
urged  upon   the  Old  School.     In   the  Assemblies  of 

1859  and  1860,  Dr.  Thornwell,  a  man  of  lovely  charac 
ter  but  inexorable  in  debate,  maintained,  in  the  interest, 
of  course,  of   slavery,  that    the   church  is  so   purely 
spiritual,  so  completely  restricted  to  the  simple  busi 
ness  of  saving  men,  so  absolutely  limited  to  what  the 
Bible  in  express  words  commanded  or  permitted,  that 
all   ecclesiastical  action  in   regard  to  Bible  Societies, 
Temperance,  Colonization,  Slavery,  or  the  Slave-trade, 
and   all   church   boards  is  unlawful.     This   new   and 
startling   doctrine,  contrary  to   the  whole   current   of 
Presbyterian  usage  and  tradition,  was,  of  course,  not  ac 
cepted  by  the  Assembly,  although,  at  first,  some  feared 
the  eloquent  Southron  would  prevail. 

In  April,  1861,  the  storm  of  civil  war,  which  had 
been  for  months,  in  visible  blackness,  hanQ-insr  over  the 

'  '  O        O. 

country,  burst  upon  it  with  the  thunder  of  the  bom 
bardment  of  Fort  Sumter.  On  the  sixteenth  of  May, 
the  General  Assembly  met  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 


HISTORICAL    EEVIEW    OF   THE    CHUECH.  29 

It  met,  of  course,  in  the  midst  of  unparalleled  excite 
ment,  and  when  public  opinion,  if  not  evident  duty, 
required  from  every  man  and  every  organized  body  of 
men,  an  open  declaration  of  principles  as  to  the  terrible 
conflict  already  commenced,  and  soon  widely  and  fear 
fully  to  rage.  Only  some  thirteen  commissioners  ap 
peared  from  the  seceding  states,  seven  of  whom  were 
from  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  of  Mississippi. 
A  very  large  part  of  the  time  of  the  Assembly  was 
taken  up  in  the  warm  and  able  discussion  of  several 
papers  offered  upon  the  state  of  the  country.  It  was 
evident  that  a  majority,  in  the  beginning,  would  have 
been  glad  to  avoid  the  subject  altogether;  but  now 
that  it  was  forced  upon  them,  would  not  silence,  or  a 
refusal  to  express  loyal  sentiments,  be  misconstrued? 
In  the  end,  a  decision  was  made  simply  between  two 
papers  in  substance  not  unlike,  but  in  form  a  declara 
tion,  one  of  them  by  the  Assembly,  the  other  by  the 
members  of  the  Assembly;  a  difference  which  many 
regarded  as  distinguishing  between  an  authoritative  act 

O  O  O 

and  a  mere  opinion  of  certain  individuals.  The  vener 
able  Dr.  Spring  had  offered  the  former,  as  in  substance 
it  was  at  length  adopted  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  to  sixty-six,  the  minority  protesting.  It  recom 
mended  a  day  of  prayer,  professed  loyalty  to  the 
Federal  Government,  and  declared  it  a  duty  to  support 
that  government  and  preserve  the  Union.  Several  in 
ferior  judicatories  at  the  North,  pronounced  this  deliv 
erance  inconsistent  with  the  constitution,  and  with  the 
word  of  God.  Some  who  viewed  it  thus,  did  not 
object,  however,  to  similar  declarations  made  by  subse 
quent  Assembles  after  the  southern  churches  had 


30  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION". 

withdrawn.  Their  idea  was,  that  a  judicatory  repre 
senting  Christians  in  states  that  had  seceded  had  no 
right  to  decide  for  them  the  political  questions,  whether 
secession  was  lawful,  and  whether  allegiance  was  due 
primarily  to  the  individual  state  or  to  the  United 
States.  But  it  was  asked,  Does  not  a  judicatory  repre 
senting  only  Christians  in  states  that  have  not  seceded, 
decide  virtually  the  same  questions,  in  pledging  them 
selves  to  assist  in  a  war  to  prevent  secession,  a  war  ut 
terly  unjust  if  secession  be  lawful,  and  the  people  of 
the  South  be  suffering  persecution  for  righteousness' 
sake? 

In  the  fall  of  18G1,  met  the  first  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Confederate  States. 
This  secession  drew  off,  first  and  last,  about  seven  hun 
dred  ministers  and  twelve  hundred  churches.  It  is  not 
probable  that  it  was  precipitated  by  the  action  in 
Philadelphia,  although  that  action  was  made  in  part 
to  bear  the  blame.  How  could  Christians  remain 
united  in  the  church,  while  fiercely  fighting  against 
one  another  along  the  whole  dividing  line  of  their 
respective  territories  ? 

Every  subsequent  Assembly  during  the  war  added 
something  to  the  church's  testimony  on  the  subject  of 
all-absorbing  interest,  the  state  of  the  country.  Once 
and  again  regret  was  manifested  that  it  was  further 
pressed ;  many  thought  that  enough  had  been  said  and 
done  to  establish  a  character  for  loyalty,  and  to  satisfy 
even  the  popular  demand  for  an  outspoken  declaration 
of  principles;  but  each  new  body  of  commissioners 
found,  in  ever-fresh  zeal  for  the  country,  and  current 
soul-stirring  events,  abundant  reason  for  new  deliver- 


JIISTOKICAL    KEVIEW    OF   TILE   CHUECH.  31 

ances.  Especially  when  enthusiastic  men  had  in 
troduced  the  subject,  it  was  sufficient  to  plead  that 
hesitation  would  imply  indifference,  a  refusal  sym 
pathy  with  the  South;  and  discussion  having  once 
commenced,  feelings  were  soon  aroused  which  car 
ried  the  body  away  captive  in  the  chains  of  patriotic 
emotion. 

The  deliverances  of  the  Assembly  on  this  subject 
after  1861,  so  far  as  they  added  any  material  idea  to 
the  testimony  of  that  year,  condemned  most  unequivo 
cally  the  rebellion  for  the  perpetuation  of  negro 
bondage,  as  a  monstrous  iniquity,  to  be  earnestly  re 
sisted  and  "  force  crushed  by  force ; "  yet  called  upon 
the  loyal  people  of  the  country  to  humble  themselves 
before  God,  confessing  both  national  and  individual 
sins,  that  the  divine  anger  might  be  turned  away ;  and 
declared  that  the  time  had  come,  when  every  vestige  of 
slavery  should  be  swept  from  the  land,  and  when  every 
Christian  should  address  himself  earnestly  to  the  ac 
complishment  of  that  work.  Then,  the  war  having 
abruptly  terminated,  thanks  were  returned,  the  whole 
Assembly  in  the  vote  rising  to  its  feet,  for  the  conduct 
and  issue  of  the  struggle,  and  the  emancipation  of  four 
millions  of  slaves ;  Abraham  Lincoln  was  eulogized,  his 
sad  death  deplored,  and  a  blessing  invoked  upon  his 
successor  in  the  chief  magistracy;  the  Board  of  Do 
mestic  Missions,  which  has  always  exercised  a  full  dis 
cretion  as  to  the  character  of  its  missionaries,  was 
directed  to  aid  no  disloyal  minister,  nor  any  one  not  in 
cordial  sympathy  with  the  Assembly  in  its  "  testimony 
on  doctrine,  loyalty,  and  freedom ; "  churches  and  judi- 
catories  were  forbidden  to  receive  from  the  South 


32  PKESBYTEEIAN    EE  UNION. 

applicants  who  had  voluntarily  participated  in  the  re 
bellion,  or  held  that  slavery  was  a  divine  ordinance,  or 
that,  in  the  words  of  the  Southern  Assembly,  it  was 
"the  peculiar  mission  of  the  Southern  Church  to  con 
serve"  it,  without  repentance  of  their  sin  and  error; 
and  they  were  directed  to  suspend,  pending  discipline, 
or  erase  from  the  roll  after  two  years'  absence,  minis 
ters  who  were  fugitives  or  exiles  on  account  of  disloy 
alty,  or  had  gone  south  and  aided  in  the  rebellion. 
Further,  the  southern  church  secession  was  declared 
schismatical,  and  the  intention  of  the  Church  North  not 
to  abandon  the  southern  field  asserted.  At  the  same 
time,  kindness  and  a  concilatory  spirit  were  recom 
mended  toward  the  erring,  especially  the  younger,  more 
impulsive,  and  less  guilty  of  them;  and  the  constant 
tempering  of  justice  with  mercy. 

A  little  incident  of  the  year  1863,  may  illustrate  the 
excitement  of  feeling  in  which  eveiy  church  judica- 
tory  during  the  war  convened.  A  motion  was  made  to 
raise  the  national  flag  over  the  church  edifice  occupied 
by  the  Assembly  at  Peoria.  A  large  minority  were  for 
laying  this  motion  on  the  table,  but  it  was  referred  in 
due  dilatory  form  to  a  committee.  While  the  latter 
were  deliberating,  however,  "  the  fire  burned  "  in  some 
hearts,  and  the  trustees  of  the  church  were  urged  to 
hoist  the  flag  without  waiting  for  the  issue  of  parlia 
mentary  process.  Might  not  the  stars  and  stripes  un 
folded  to  the  eye  quicken  deliberation  upon  them? 
The  trustees,  with  a  slight  stretch  of  authority,  though 
hardly  a  stretch  of  reverence  for  the  embodied  wisdom 
of  the  church,  yielded  to  this  suggestion ;  and  the  As 
sembly  afterward  gravely  decided,  that  as  the  thing 


HISTOKICAL    EEVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  33 

had  been  done,  their  further  attention  to  it  was  unnec 
essary. 

A  statement  of  the  grounds  upon  which  these  various 
acts  of  the  supreme  judicatory,  most  of  them  more  or 
less  earnestly  contested,  were  by  their  advocates  sus 
tained,  will  exhibit  sufficiently  the  argument  on  both 
sides.  Kindness,  it  was  said,  to  the  erring,  might  be 
serious  unkindness  to  the  church  and  nation;  there 
were  higher  interests  at  stake  than  the  retention  of  the 
southern  churches;  and  loyal  Christians  at  the  North 
would  not  be  satisfied  without  the  fullest  declaration  of 
loyalty,  and  the  plainest  dealing  with  the  rebellion  as 
an  atrocious  iniquity.  The  duty  to  condemn  sin  was 
urged,  especially  sin  so  monstrous  and  destructive. 
Eepentance  neither  the  state  nor  political  parties  de 
manded,  but  the  church  never  restored  offenders  with 
out  it,  and  was  to  be  governed  by  a  simple  regard  to 
right  far  more  than  to  policy.  No  terms  of  communion 
unknown  to  Presbyterianism  had  been  established,  no 
new  offences  created.  Were  not  the  ten  command 
ments  part  of  the  church  standards;  and  had  not  the 
Assembly  always  exercised  the  right  of  laying  down 
conditions  for  the  reception  of  outside  ministers,  in 
the  position  of  which  those  at  the  South  had  really 
put  themselves,  and  of  enjoining  examinations  which 
supposed  a  liberty  to  reject  applicants,  and  which 
every  church  court  was  confessedly  entitled  to  make  ? 
All  moral  and  religious  questions,  no  matter  on  what 
other  questions  of  a  secular  kind  they  depended  for 
settlement,  the  church  could  rightfully  decide.  Must 
a  convicted  smuggler,  sent  to  the  state-prison,  remain 
in  good  ecclesiastical  standing,  because  his  guilt  de- 


34  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

pended  wholly  upon  the  interpretation  of  positive  civil 
laws?  Must  a  murderer  continue  an  unimpeached 
church-member,  because  his  conviction  required,  in  the 
church  as  in  the  state,  the  settlement  of  such  a  mere 
scientific  and  professional  question  as  that  of  medical 
malpractice?  In  cases  of  this  kind,  the  church  could 
not  merely  follow  state  decisions,  which  might  be  glar 
ingly  unrighteous.  By  such  decisions  Christians  had 
often  been  persecuted ;  by  such  a  decision  Christ  him 
self  was  crucified.  It  was  admitted  that  erroneous 
political  opinions,  generally  prevalent  and  imbibed  in 
early  years,  were  a  great  palliation  of  political  offences, 
and  made  lenient  discipline  specially  desirable  in  the 
present  case. 

The  action  of  the  Assembly  upon  the  state  of  the 
country  and  of  the  church  gave  great  offence  to  some 
persons,  particularly  in  the  border  states.  The  Presby 
tery  of  Louisville  issued  a  "  Declaration  and  Testi 
mony,"  to  which  they  solicited  the  signature  of  all  their 
brethren  who  agreed  with  them.  The  whole  number 
of  signers,  first  and  last,  was  something  like  one  hun- 
•dred  and  twenty ;  say  forty-two  ministers  and  seventy- 
.eight  elders.  This  paper  testified  against  various 
errors  in  acts  of  the  Assembly  growing  out  of  the  war, 
.errors  which,  of  course,  were  attributed  to  political 
views  and  feelings.  Two  things  at  least  secured  its 
-very  general  condemnation.  Its  language  was  grossly 
unbecoming.  It  charged  the  Assembly,  for  example, 
with  unjust  and  scandalous  self-contradiction,  malignity, 
and  even  falsehood.  Moreover,  it  raised  avowedly  the 
standard  of  revolt,  inaugurating  in  the  church  what 
.had  just  been  attempted  in  the  state.  This  ecclesias- 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  35 

tical  rebellion  took  the  place,  in  the  Assembly  of  1866, 
at  St.  Louis,  of  the  civil  rebellion  which  had  produced 
such  protracted  agitation,  as  a  source  of  excitement 
and  vehement  debate. 

Dr.  Robert  J.  Breckinridge  hdd  endeavored  to  ex 
clude  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  and  Testimony 
from  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,  and  had  appealed  to  the 
Assembly  against  their  admission.  This  case,  however, 
was  passed  by,  and  the  commissioners  from  the  Presby 
tery  of  Louisville  were  summarily,  without  allowance 
of  argument,  excluded  from  the  house  until  their  case 
could  be  adjudged.  Afterward,  when  it  was  brought 
forward,  they  were  invited  to  defend  themselves,  but 
declined.  At  length,  the  Assembly,  but  not  without 
the  warmest,  most  excited  discussion,  adopted,  by  a 
vote  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  to  thirty-seven,  a 
paper  offered  by  Dr.  P.  D.  Gurley,  in  substance  con 
demning  the  Declaration  and  Testimony  as  slanderous, 
schismatical,  and  rebellious;  summoning  its  adopters 
and  signers  to  the  bar  of  the  next  Assembly ;  forbid 
ding  them  to  sit,  meanwhile,  in  any  church  court  above 
the  session ;  and  declaring  every  such  court  admitting 
any  of  them  to  be  ipso  facto  dissolved,  its  power  pass 
ing  into  the  hands  of  those  adhering  to  the  order  of 
the  Assembly. 

In  support  of  this  action,  it  was  urged  that  the  As 
sembly  was  a  body,  not  of  limited  powers  given  to  it 
by  its  constitution,  but  of  powers  unlimited  —  all  the 
power  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  excepting  what  the 
constitution  expressly  took  away ;  that  every  delibera 
tive  body  had  an  absolute  discretion  in  regard  to  the 
qualifications  of  its  members,  and  the  preservation,  as 


36  PEESBYTERIAN    KEUTSTIOlSr. 

against  those  members,  of  its  own  dignity  and  the  dig 
nity  of  its  constituency ;  that  the  effectual  rebuke  of  vio 
lence  and  prevention  of  rebellion  demanded,  in  this 
case,  sharp  work;  and  that  the  offence  of  the  Louis 
ville  Presbytery  and  'its  commissioners,  as  the  original 
and  most  flagrant  one,  required  special  treatment. 

In  view  of  the  importance  and  exigency  of  the  crisis, 
a  preliminary  convention  had  been  called,  after  the 
manner  of  the  troublous  times  preceding  the  division  of 
the  church  in  1838,  to  meet  at  St.  Louis.  It  was  quite 
numerously  attended,  and  sent  in  a  memorial  to  the 
Assembly,  which  was  treated  with  respect,  but  as  pro 
posing  nothing  desirable  after  the  deliverances  already 
made.  The  issue  proved  that  the  call  of  the  convention 
had  been  unnecessary,  as  indeed,  beforehand,  it  had 
been  generally  regarded. 

As  the  result  of  all  this,  the  Synods  of  Kentucky  and 
Missouri,  with  the  presbyteries  belonging  to  them,  were 
divided,  and  the  Assembly  of  1867  adjudged  those  por 
tions  of  the  several  judicatories  which  had  obeyed  the 
orders  of  1866  to  have  the  true  succession;  but  concilia 
tory  measures,  though  without  the  relinquishrnent  of 
principle,  were  adopted,  remitting  the  cases  of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  and  Testimony  to  the  lower 
courts,  and  providing  for  the  return  of  all  who  might  be 
willing  to  promise  obedience  in  the  Lord,  and  disclaim 
intentional  disrespect,  and  for  dropping  the  names  of 
the  rest.  In  1868,  the  Assembly  refused  to  modify 
this  action,  but  gave  permission  to  the  Synods  of  Ken 
tucky  and  Missouri  to  do,  in  the  whole  matter,  anything 
consistent  with  the  honor  and  authority  of  the  supreme 
judicatory,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  order.  The  Dec- 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  37 

laration  and  Testimony  men,  however,  are  now,  in  gen 
eral,  with  the  southern  secession,  or  by  themselves. 

As  early  as  1866,  the  Assembly  had  declared  that 
it  deplored  greatly  the  separation  of  the  southern 
churches,  and  earnestly  desired  a  reunion  on  the  basis 
of  the  standards,  and  on  terms  consistent  with  truth 
and  righteousness.  In  1867,  generous  contributions 
for  the  relief  of  destitution  at  the  South  were  recom 
mended.  The  next  year,  the  Southern  Presbyterian 
Church  was  recognized  as  independent,  with  the  expres 
sion  of  an  earnest  hope,  that,  although  its  separation 
could  not  be  justified,  it  might  return  to  its  former  rela 
tions;  and  in  1869,  Christian  salutations  were  addressed 
to  it,  with  the  assurance  of  a  strong  desire  for  a  general 
reunion  among  Presbyterians  throughout  the  land. 

Our  sketch,  thus  far,  of  ecclesiastical  events  during 
and  since  the  war,  makes  several  things  which  deserve 
consideration  sufficiently  evident.  In  the  Assembly  as 
well  as  out  of  it,  ministers  and  ruling  elders  acted  often 
under  great  excitement,  which  it  would  be  extreme 
folly  to  say  was  not  unfavorable  to  wise  action.  But 
how  great  had  been  the  provocation !  How  impossi 
ble  it  was,  the  war  still  raging,  for  men  whose  sons, 
brothers,  or  other  near  relatives  were  at  the  moment 
exposed  to  death  upon  the  field,  if  their  lives  had  not 
been  already  offered  up,  to  view  the  rebellion  calmly, 
or  express  themselves  upon  it  with  moderation,  or 
punctilious  propriety.  One  reason  why  prudently  mod 
erate  men  sometimes  failed  to  get  the  ear  of  the  church 
was,  that  rank  sympathizers  with  the  South  hailed 
them  as  allies,  and  threw  upon  them  suspicion.  Now, 
when  the  danger  has  passed  away,  we  can  imagine  the 


38  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUOTON. 

event  to  have  proved  that  others  were  hasty,  rash,  un 
necessarily  alarmed  and  severe.  The  acts  of  men  in 
great  peril  are  to  be  judged  of,  however,  by  that  peril 
as  imminent,  rather  than  by  a  subsequent  providential 
escape ;  and,  indeed,  who  can  say  that  the  Union  would 
have  been  preserved,  without  the  resolute,  it  may  be 
the  stern,  violent  patriotism  of  northern  Christians? 
Nor  is  a  general  disposition  now,  the  emergency  having 
ceased,  to  relax  the  rigor  of  previous  enactments,  any 
evidence  that  they  were  originally  unjustifiable.  We 
approached,  even  at  the  North,  very  near  to  that  con 
dition  actually  experienced  by  large  portions  of  the 
South,  in  which  constitutions  and  laws  crumble  away, 
and  natural  right  and  Christian  principle  remain  the 
only  social  bonds.  Well  may  we  be  thankful  that  the 
review  demands  so  little  regret ;  that  the  great  princi 
ples  of  the  Gospel  and  of  Presbyterianism  were  so  well 
sustained ;  that  so  little,  if  any,  essential  injustice  was 
done;  that  narrow  limits  to  beneficial  and  patriotic 
church  action  were  not  allowed  to  be  set.  Had  we 
realized  the  proverb,  Inter  anna  silent  leges,  it  had 
hardly  been  a  wonder ;  but  the  gracious  Head  of  the 
Church  saved  us  from  that  calamity :  to  him  be  the 
praise  !  It  is  not  probable,  either,  that  a  more  concilia 
tory  course  in  the  northern  Assembly  would  have 
even  retarded  the  southern  church  secession ;  which  was 
deliberately  designed  to  aid  the  rebellion  and  carry  out 
its  foregone  conclusions,  as  clearly  as  our  acts  were  de 
signed  to  strengthen  the  national  government.  Besides, 
it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  coherence,  during 
the  war  at  least,  of  the  northern  and  southern  por 
tions  of  the  church  was  desirable.  Men  cannot,  alter- 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  39 

nately,  go  out  and  fight  against  each  other  to  the  death, 
and  come  in  together  to  the  Lord's  table,  at  once  con 
sistent  foes  and  consistent  friends.  No  church  could 
preserve  its  oneness  the  land  over,  through  such  a  civil 
war  as  ours,  unless  the  Church  of  Rome,  with  its  bond 
of  union  in  another  and  distant  country. 

Leaving  now  a  topic  which  might  well  have  occu 
pied  a  much  larger  space,  it  may  be  desirable,  running 
over  the  whole  period  of  this  history,  to  condense  into 
a  few  paragraphs,  in  the  order  of  time  rather  than  of 
logical  connection,  some  brief  allusions  to  events,  par 
ticularly  acts  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  which  little 
room  comparatively  can  be  given.  The  troubles  of 
1837  and  1838  interrupted  fraternal  intercourse  with 
various  evangelical  bodies  at  .home  and  abroad,  with 
which,  however,  a  friendly  correspondence  was  speedily 
re-established.  Soon  after  the  division,  measures  were 
not  unsuccessfully  adopted  to  revive  and  invigorate  the 
office  of  deacon.  Various  arrangements  and  changes 
have  been  made  to  secure  to  the  boards  the  advantage 
of  periodical  publications,  to  disseminate  intelligence 
of  their  work  through  the  churches.  The  latest  ac 
counts  shew  a  circulation  of  sixteen  thousand  copies  of 
the  monthly  Record ;  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  of 
the  Sallath  School  Visitor  of  the  first,  with  thirty-four 
thousand  additional  copies  of  that  of  the  fifteenth,  of 
the  month;  and  three  thousand  five  hundred  of  the 
pamphlet,  with  almost  fifty-two  thousand  of  the  news 
paper,  edition,  both  monthly,  of  the  foreign  Mission 
ary  •  besides  many  thousands  of  the  several  yearly  re 
ports  and  of  various  occasional  issues.  From  about 
1849,  the  project  of  a  weekly  religious  paper,  like  the 


40  PKESBYTEKIAN    KEUNION. 

Methodist  Advocate,  was  pressed  upon  the  Assembly 
for  several  years  successively,  but  without  effect.  Yet 
the  church  has  always  acknowledged  the  unspeakable 
importance  of  religious  papers,  many  of  which  have 
been  established  by  private  enterprise.  The  value  of 
its  periodical  publications  to  the  Old  School,  before 
the  division,  none  can  estimate.  But  then  they  were 
weighty  with  doctrinal  discussion,  and  bristling  with 
the  arms  of  sturdy  polemics.  One  of  our  most  honored 
ministers  recently  said,  in  an  address  to  theological 
students,  "  I  cannot  help  thinking  we  shall  need,  in 
the  next  ten  years,  a  little  more  controversial  preach 
ing  : "  he  might  wisely,  perhaps,  have  added,  "  and  a 
little  more  doctrinal  and  controversial  newspaper 
writing." 

It  is  probable  that  Millenarianism  has  become  more 
prevalent  among  the  Old  School  than  it  was  in  1838, 
though  lately  it  seems  to  have  suffered  a  decline.  The 
Assembly  has  more  than  once  strongly  recommended 
preaching  without  manuscript  and  expository  preach 
ing.  It  has  discouraged  ordination  sine  titulo.  Twice 
the  presbyteries  have  virtually  declined  to  make  pro 
vision  for  a  voluntary  demission  of  the  ministry. 
Twice  the  Assembly  has  refused  to  submit  to  them  a 
proposition  to  allow  marriage  with  a  deceased  wife's 
sister,  and  other  marriages  falling  within  the  same 
general  prohibition  ;  and  it  has  sustained  discipline  for 
such  a  connection,  with  the  explanation,  however,  that, 
though  the  union  was  sinful,  it  was  not  invalid ;  and 
with  the  result  that  church  judicatories,  as  to  discip 
line  in  this  case,  do  each  one  what  is  right  in  its  own 
eyes.  Total  abstinence  from  intoxicating  drinks  has 


HISTORICAL   REVIEW    OF   THE   CHURCH.  41 

been  strongly  recommended,  though  not  enjoined;  un 
less  we  may  regard  the  equivocal  language  of  the 
Assembly's  acts  of  1865  and  1869  as  amounting  to  an 
injunction,  which  a  majority  of  the  church,  it  is  proba 
ble,  would  hardly  sustain.  Romish  baptisms,  after 
long  hesitations,  have  been  by  a  nearly  unanimous  vote 
declared  void.  The  subject  of  union,  more  or  less 
intimate,  with  evangelical,  and  especially  Presbyterian, 
bodies  in  the  United  States,  other  than  the  New  School, 
has  repeatedly  been  brought  before  the  Assembly,  and 
has  always  awakened  a  favorable  interest,  as  in  the 
cases  of  the  Presbyterian  National  Union  Convention 
of  1867,  and  the  National  Council  of  Evangelical 
Churches  proposed,  in  1869,  by  the  General  Synod  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  The  ordinations  of  all  Protes 
tant  communions  have  been  pronounced  valid,  with  the 
express  proviso,  however,  that  ministers  received  from 
other  bodies  must  possess  the  qualifications  required 
by  the  Presbyterian  standards.  The  dismission  of 
church-members  to  the  world  has  been  condemned.  In 
1853,  the  Assembly  addressed  a  memorial  to  Congress 
requesting  the  adoption  of  measures  for  securing  the 
rights  of  conscience  to  our  citizens  abroad.  The 
American  Bible  Society  and  the  American  Coloniza 
tion  Society  have  been  warmly  commended,  although 
the  alterations  made  by  the  former,  in  the  received 
English  version  and  its  accessories,  were  in  effect  con 
demned,  though  not  until  the  society  had  itself  seen  its 
mistake  and  withdrawn  its  revised  editions.  In  1858, 
the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  reunion  of  the  Old 
and  New  Sides  was  celebrated.  The  Assembly  has  re 
fused  to  authorize  the  preparation  of  a  church-commen- 


42  PKES13YTERIAN    REUNION. 

tary  on  the  Bible.  The  subject  of  unemployed  minis 
ters  and  vacant  congregations  has  been  repeatedly  dis 
cussed,  but  without  any  effective  action.  Mr.  Joseph 
M.  Wilson,  the  indefatigable  advocate  of  church- 
manses,  has  succeeded  in  engaging  for  his  project  the 
favorable  attention  of  the  church. 

There  have  been  several  attempts,  during  the  same 
period,  to  make  important  changes  in  the  Form  of 
Government,  Book  of  Discipline  and  Directory  for 
Worship.  Offices  for  the  administration  of  baptism 
and  for  the  public  admission  of  church-members  have 
been  proposed,  but  have  not  found  favor.  An  able 
committee,  appointed  in  18G4,  elaborated  a  plan  for 
trying  judicial  cases  in  synod  and  in  the  General  As 
sembly  by  a  commision  of  appeals  in  each,  composed  of 
four  ministers  and  four  elders,  elected,  two  every  year, 
for  four  years.  This  plan,  however,  was  rejected  by 
the  presbyteries,  although  it  has  been  an  almost  uni 
versal  conviction,  that  some  radical  change  ought  to  be 
effected  for  the  dispatch  of  judicial  business  in  our 
larger  church  courts.  The  entire  recasting  of  the 
Book  of  Discipline  has,  moreover,  been  before  the 
General  Assembly  and  the  church,  some  of  the  ablest, 
most  influential  men  having  been  engaged  in  the  work, 
ever  since  the  year  1857,  until  the  anticipation  of  reunion 
suggested  the  wisdom  of  leaving  the  business  to  be  con 
summated  by  the  reunited  body.  There  have  been, 
besides,  slight  and  wholly  ineffectual  efforts,  in  some 
quarters,  to  induce  the  church  to  return  to  the  use  of  a 
liturgy. 

The  interval  of  separation  has  been  one  of  very 
marked  literary  activity  in  the  Old  School  body.  Some 


mSTOKICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  43 

thirty  original  volumes,  from  this  source,  of  comment 
upon  various  portions  of  Holy  Scripture  have  appeared; 
-and  a  very  large  number  of  important  works,  biograph 
ical,  historical,  dogmatical,  practical,  and  miscellaneous. 
Probably  no  other  denomination  in  the  United  States 
has  produced,  within  the  same  period,  so  many  theolog 
ical  books  of  standard  value. 

Before  the  southern  churches  seceded  in  1861,  that 
is,  in  twenty -three  years  from  the  separation,  the  Old 
School  branch  had  much  more  than  doubled  the  number 
of  its  communicants,  ministers,  and  congregations.  And 
now,  after  that  secession  and  the  loss  also  of  the  Decla 
ration  and  Testimony  party,  it  re-enters,  with  forces  not 
very  far  from  double,  into  organic  union  with  the  New 
School.  To  the  Assembly  of  1869,  additions  of  more 
than  fifteen  thousand  communicants  upon  examination 
were  reported,  and  contributions  for  congregational  and 
benevolent  purposes  of  between  four  and  a  half  and  five 
millions  of  dollars.  Excepting  the  troublous  times  of 
the  rebellion,  the  whole  period  under  review  has  been 
one  of  peace,  steady  enlargement,  and  uninterrupted 
prosperity.  No  small  share  of  this  prosperity  has  been 
due  to  the  happy  operation  of  the  boards  and  similar 
agencies  of  the  church.  The  superior  advantages  of 
these,  as  compared  with  voluntary  union  associations, 
for  building  up,  not  only  Presbyterianism,  but  also  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  few  of  either  school  now  question. 
For  a  time,  after  the  separation,  many  church-members 
and  some  congregations  of  the  Old  School  preferred  to 
make  voluntary  societies  the  channels  of  their  benevo 
lence.  Their  Christian  freedom  in  this  matter  was  not 
disputed;  their  preference  was  not  condemned.  A 


44  PRESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

spirit  of  forbearance  and  love  prevented  difficulty,  and 
by  degrees  has  won  nearly  all  to  a  hearty  support  of 
the  church's  own  agencies. 

The  question,  how  many  boards  there  should  be,  has 
sometimes  been  agitated.  It  has  been  well-nigh  univer 
sally  agreed,  that  the  work  of  foreign  missions,  that  of 
domestic  missions,  that  of  education,  and  that  of  publi 
cation,  should  be  committed  each  to  a  separate  agency ; 
but  many  have  thought  that  the  Boards  of  Domestic 
Missions  and  Education  might,  between  them,  take  the 
whole  work  now  confided  to  that  of  Church  Extension, 
to  the  Committee  on  Freedmen,  and,  in  the  matter  of 
disabled  ministers  and  their  families,  to  the  Trustees  of 
the  General  Assembly.  The  location  of  different  boards 
has,  from  time  to  time,  been  warmly  discussed ;  but  for 
the  most  part  the  very  sensible  idea  has  prevailed,  that 
the  northern  and  eastern  portions  of  the  church,  as  able 
to  contribute  more  largely  by  far  than  the  southern 
and  western  portions,  should  not  be  discouraged  from 
devising  liberal  things,  by  having  the  application  of 
their  charities  taken  too  much  out  of  their  own  hands. 
The  operations  of  all  the  boards,  at  times,  and  partic 
ularly,  in  several  instances,  those  of  the  Boards  of 
Domestic  Missions,  Education,  and  Publication,  have 
been  subjected  to  searching  inquiry,  with  the  result, 
occasionally,  of  modification  and  improvement,  but  al 
ways  of  demonstrating  the  general  ability  and  fidelity 
with  which  their  affairs  have  been  managed,  and  of  re 
commending  them  to  increased  confidence  in  the  church. 
Said  a  speaker,  several  years  ago,  on  this  point,  "The 
boards  breathe  more  freely  after  the  Assembly  ad 
journs"  —  more  freely,  the  ordeal  passed,  and  the  sub- 


^oi-          n'i//f* 

' TT  *T  T  T"  T?  T)    Cl   ' 

U  IT  I  v  &  A!  g 

HISTORICAL    EEVIEW    OF   THE   CHTJECH.  45 

jects  of  it  "  found  unto  praise  and  honor,"  yet  not  left 
without  a  wholesome  sense  of  responsibility.  Besides, 
uneasy  spirits  must  have  an  outlet.  Fretting  over  the 
imperfections  which  the  best  efforts  of  our  fallen  hu 
manity,  and  our  most  effective  institutions,  cannot  al 
ways  escape,  they  are  ready  at  any  time  for  radical 
transformation  or  revolution,  forgetting  that  incessant 
change  may  itself  be  one  of  the  most  ruinous  of  evils, 
and  that  no  plan  can  even  seem  perfect,  unless  because 
untried.  The  church,  so  far  as  her  boards  have  been 
concerned,  has  paid  little  regard  to  visionary  perfec 
tionists,  and  has  steadily  maintained  these  agencies,  as 
the  right  hand  of  her  power. 

Among  them  all,  none  has  held  a  warmer  place  in  her 
affections  than  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  Its  re 
ceipts  for  a  year,  as  reported  in  1869,  had  exceeded 
three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  thousand  dollars.  As 
to  the  increase  of  means,  its  prosperity,  for  an  equal 
length  of  time,  has  far  transcended  that  of  .the  Ameri 
can  Board,  so  honorably  distinguished  for  its  success. 
And  wherever  the  two  have  labored  in  the  same  field, 
side  by  side,  or  in  fields  that  can  justly  be  compared, 
the  results  prove  the  Presbyterian  Board  to  be,  saying 
the  least,  not  one  whit  behind  the  other  in  the  evidences 
of  God's  blessing.  The  number  of  its  church-members, 
on  foreign  missionary  ground,  has  doubled  in  about 
five  years ;  and  average  pastors  at  home  are  often  com 
pelled  to  mourn  that  they  have  been  less  successful,  in 
our  Christian  land,  than  average  foreign  missionaries  in 
the  dark  places  of  the  earth. 

To  close  this  brief  historical  sketch,  there  remains 
but  to  present  a  simple  outline,  from  an  Old  School 


46  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

point  of  view,  of  the  protracted  negotiations  that  have 
resulted  in  the  consolidation  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  And  here,  the  reader's  attention 
will  be  directed  to  points  for  the  most  part  outside  of 
the  ground  occupied  by  the  full  account  of  the  reunion, 
from  other  pens,  in  subsequent  chapters.  The  Old 
School  Assembly,  in  1846,  courteously  declined  an  in 
vitation  to  unite  with  that  of  the  New  School  in  cele 
brating  the  Lord's  Supper,  doubtless  mainly  on  the 
ground,  that  though  the  great  lawsuit  before  men 
tioned  had  been  discontinued  some  three  and  a  half 
years,  former  differences  and  conflicts  were  yet  very 
fresh  in  thought  and  feeling;  and  each  body  yet  ex 
pressly  claimed  to  be  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  each, 
too,  regarding  the  other  as  making  herein  a  sinful 
claim.  With  the  language  of  mutual  recrimination 
upon  their  lips,  ought  they  to  sit  down  together  at  the 
Lord's  Table?  In  1850,  the  Assembly  refused  to  take 
any  action  upon  the  subject  of  reunion.  When  the 
rebellion  commenced,  however,  causes  similar  to  those 
which  speedily  brought  the  two  branches  together  at 
the  South,  began  to  operate  powerfully  at  the  North. 
The  common  agitating  excitements,  alarms,  perils,  and 
sufferings  of  a  struggle  for  the  nation's  life,  drew  Old 
and  New  School  men  into  closer  and  more  frequent 
communion,  and  the  rather  because  of  their  near  rela 
tionship  and  family  resemblance.  Yet,  in  1862,  the 
Old  School  Assembly  still  declined  to  talk  of  reunion, 
though  it  unanimously  agreed  to  open  a  correspondence 
by  delegates.  No  doubt  this  correspondence  was  a 
great  advance  toward  organic  unity.  Nothing,  how 
ever,  more  definite  was  accomplished,  although  the 


inSTOEICAL   REVIEW    OF   THE   CIIUECH.  47 

subject  was  brought  every  year  to  the  notice  of  both 
Assemblies,  until,  in  I860,  the  first  joint  committee  was 
appointed  to  confer  upon  "  the  desirableness  and  practi 
cability  of  reunion."  The  earliest  plan  proposed  by 
this  committee  was  by  no  means  satisfactory  to  the 
Old  School.  Various  objections  were  made  to  it,  but 
the  "doctrinal  basis"  was  the  grand  difficulty.  Be 
sides,  the  major  part  yet  doubted  the  fact  of  that 
reasonable  agreement  in  doctrine,  without  which  the 
two  branches  could  not  wisely  unite. 

Now,  there  met  in  Philadelphia,  the  Presbyterian 
National  Union  Convention  of  November,  1867,  and 
gave  a  very  perceptible  impulse  to  the  whole  move 
ment.  The  hope  which  it  excited  of  the  consolidation 
of  five  or  more  Presbyterian  bodies;  the  impression 
that  it  gave  of  a  general  feeling,  soon  to  be  irresistible, 
in  favor  of  reunion;  and  the  warmth  of  enthusiasm 
which  it  kindled,  were  very  influential  to  turn  op 
ponents  into  friends  of  the  measure.  The  convention 
was  thought  by  many  to  have  produced  an  improved 
"  doctrinal  basis,"  which  was  therefore  incorporated 
into  the  joint  committee's  plan.  Still,  as  before,  the 
Old  School  Church  was  not  satisfied.  Yet  a  few 
months  later,  upon  a  new  basis,  the  reunion  was 
decreed  by  such  an  overwhelming  vote  of  the  presby 
teries,  that  the  feeble  minority  could  but  bow  in 
humble  submission  to  the  evident  will  of  the  church. 

To  explain  all  this,  some,  on  both  sides,  have  sup 
posed  a  relaxation  of  doctrinal  strictness  in  the  Old 
School  body,  of  which,  however,  there  has  not  been  the 
slightest  evidence.  What  single  act  of  the  Assembly, 
what  disposition  manifested  by  any  considerable  num- 


48  PRESBYTEEIAN   EEUlSTIOISr. 

ber  of  the  presbyteries,  has  indicated  such  a  thing? 
The  very  reverse  is  too  apparent  to  be  questioned.  In 
express  words,  the  Assembly  has  reaffirmed  all  its  old 
testimonies  against  error.  And,  on  the  very  ground  of 
apprehended  doctrinal  disagreement,  and  of  dissatisfac 
tion  with  the  doctrinal  basis,  the  church  hesitated,  up 
to  the  last  moment,  to  sanction  the  reunion. 

But  the  plan  of  1869  was  regarded  by  the  presby 
teries  generally  as  presenting  the  safest  basis  possible 
in  point  of  doctrine  —  the  basis  of  "  the  standards  pure 
and  simple."  It  was  the  basis  with  which  those  who 
loved  the  standards  most  were  evidently  the  best 
pleased.  In  fact,  past  negotiations  had  proved  it  to  be 
the  only  basis  offering  the  least  promise  of  safety. 
And,  again,  from  every  quarter  had  come  to  the  Old 
School  body  multiplied  assurances,  in  most  influential 
forms,  that  the  New  School,  not  as  to  every  individual, 
but  as  a  church,  had  become,  and  were  becoming,  more 
orthodox  than  formerly ;  nay,  were  now  as  strictly  con 
formed  to  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Catechisms  as 
the  Old  School  themselves.  Such  assurances  were 
given  in  the  joint  committee  to  its  Old  School  mem 
bers.  The  unimpeachable  orthodoxy  of  the  present 
theological  professors  in  the  New  School  seminaries 
was  avouched  with  the  strongest  confidence.  As  a 
specimen  of  the  declarations  made  on  this  general  sub 
ject,  take  the  following  from  the  able  pen  of  Dr.  Henry 
B.  Smith,  professor  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary 
of  New  York.  He  says  it  is  notorious,  "  that  the  New 
School  is  thoroughly  organized  as  a  Presbyterian  body, 
having  renounced  the  vain  attempt  to  combine  incon 
gruous  elements  in  its  system  of  church  order,  and  no 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  49 

longer  favoring  even  the  vestiges  of  the  plan  of  union 
for  any  future  churches ;  that  it  is  not  strenuous  as  to 
the  support  of  voluntary  societies ;  that  it  is  separated 
in  all  church  action  from  Congregationalism;  that 
many  of  its  more  extreme  men  have  willingly  gone  into 
other  church  connections;  that  certain  objectionable 
forms  of  doctrine  and  of  practice  are  no  more  taught 
in  its  pulpits  and  seminaries ;  that  it,  in  short,  has  be 
come  a  homogeneous  body,  on  the  basis  of  the  stand 
ards  of  the  Presbyterian  Church;  and  that,  especially 
in  case  of  reunion,  all  these  tendencies  will  be  acceler 
ated  and  carried  to  their  completion." 

Now,  this  declaration  and  a  thousand  others,  to  the 
same  general  effect,  the  Old  School  Church,  after  long 
doubt,  indeed,  yet  at  length,  confidently  received  and 
believed.  It  consented  to  reunion,  —  in  the  end  gladly 
and  warmly  consented,  —  because  authoritatively  as 
sured  that  the  New  School  Church  was  as  orthodox  as 
the  Old.  May  its  confidence  never  be  shaken :  then, 
for  this  reunion,  glory  shall  be  to  the  Father,  and  to 
the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  forever ! 

4 


CHAPTER     SECOND. 

HISTORICAL  REVIEW  OF  THE  CHURCH  (NEW  SCHOOL  BRANCH). 


BY   THE   REV.   JONATHAN   F.  STEARNS,   D.D. 


Sources  of  Presbyterian  History.  —  The  Separation  not  Anticipated.  PER 
IOD  OF  DEPRESSION. —  Policy  of  Absorption.  —  Hope  of  Reunion.  —  Unsec- 
tarian  Spirit.  —  Missionary  Churches.  —  Changes  in  the  Form  of  Govern 
ment. —  Preparation  for  Growth. —  Contributions.—  Gradual  Consolidation. 
PERIOD  OF  REVIVAL. —  Assembly  at  Cincinnati  in  1847.  —  Plan  of  Church 
Extension.  —  Assembly  at  Washington  in  1852. —  New  arrangement  for 
Home  Missions,  Education,  and  Publication. — Work  required  of  Presby 
teries  and  Synods.  —  Presbyterian  Quarterly  Review.  —  Relations  with  the 
Congregationalists. —  Conflict  with  the  Home  Missionary  Society.  PER 
MANENT  COMMITTEE  ON  CHURCH  EXTENSION. —  The  "Declaration  of 
Principles." — Assembly  at  Wilmington.  —  Assembly  at  Pittsburg  in  18(50. — 
Separation  from  the  Home  Missionary  Society.  —  Agreement  with  the  A. 
B.  C.  F.  M.  in  1859.  THE  QUESTION  OF  SLAVERY. —  Testimony  against 
the  system,  with  care  not  to  do  injustice  to  those  involved  in  it.  —  The 
Detroit  Resolution. —  Action  at  Cleveland. —  Withdrawal  of  the  Southern 
Synods.  PERIOD  OF  PROSPERITY  AND  PROGRESS. —  Unity  and  Unan 
imity. —  Loyalty  in  the  War. —  Home  Missions.  — Church  Erection.  —  Edu 
cation.  —  Publication.  —  Presbyterian  House. —  Foreign  Missions.  —  Periodi 
cal  Literature.  —  Colleges.  —  Theological  Seminaries.  —  Position  towards 
Reunion.  — Doctrinal  Position. —  The  Future. 

IT  is  provided  by  the  "  concurrent  Declarations  "  that 
"  the  official  records  of  the  two  branches  of  the  church 
for  the  period  of  the  separation  should  be  preserved 
and  held  as  making  up  the  one  history  of  the  church." 
Those  documents  are  now  the  property  of  the  united 
body,  and  will,  no  doubt,  be  made  the  subject  of  care 
ful  investigation  by  its  future  historians.  They  contain 
a  portion  of  Presbyterian  history  of  equal  value  to 
both  the  classes  of  which  the  united  body  is  composed. 
We  are  henceforth  to  have  but  one  interest ;  and  what 
ever  good  has  been  accomplished  by  one  class  will  be  a 

(50) 


AUBURN     SEMINARY. 


Xtsl  llB/U^j 

--T  V^USI 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  51 

matter  of  satisfaction,  and  whatever  evil  incurred,  of 
regret,  to  the  other.  Both  results  must  be  accepted  and 
acknowledged  as  the  achievements  or  failures  of  Amer 
ican  Presbyterians. 

In  preparing  this  sketch,  the  guiding  principle  must 
be  that  of  truth  impartially  stated.  Yet,  if  separate 
sketches  are  to  be  given,  the  writer  of  either  will  stand 
somewhat  in  the  position  of  an  advocate,  and  must  not 
be  held  as  violating  the  wholesome  rule,  "  to  study  the 
things  that  make  for  peace,  and  to  guard  against  all 
needless  and  offensive  references  to  the  causes  that  have 
divided  us,"  if,  on  some  critical  points  he  states  the  case 
of  his  clients  from  their  own  point  of  view,  though,  to 
the  other  party,  it  may  have  a  different  aspect.  It  is 
to  be  hoped,  however,  there  will  be  very  little  even  of 
the  appearance  of  partisanship. 

It  will  be  readily  granted  by  those  who  have  studied 
the  history,  that  the  New  School  party  in  the  old  Pres 
byterian  church  did  not  desire  the  separation.  Their 
feelings  were  against  it ;  their  interest  was  manifestly 
against  it ;  they  had  no  points  to  carry  which,  in  their 
estimation,  were  likely  to  be  subserved  by  it ;  their  ac 
tion,  up  to  the  last  moment,  was  directed  with  a  view 
to  its  prevention.  When  it  took  place,  it  found  them 
totally  unprepared  for  the  exigency.  They  had  no 
plans  concocted  for  separate  action,  no  policy  adapted 
to  the  new  condition  in  which  they  found  themselves. 

If  such  was  the  case  with  the  act  itself,  still  more 
was  it  with  the  manner  of  doing  it.  The  cutting  off  of 
the  four  synods,  on  the  principles  which  were  held  to 
justify  it,  seemed  to  them  so  arbitrary  and  undiscrimi- 
nating  a  measure,  that  they  had  not  supposed  it  would 


52  PKESBYTEKIAN    KE  UNION. 

be  contemplated.  Why  not  dissolve  the  Assembly  as 
well,  since  it  contained  the  same  elements  ?  Why  not 
rather  take  measures  to  eject  the  unsound  and  alien 
elements,  carefully  preserving  such  as  were  sound  and 
constitutional?  Why  break  up  these  large  organiza 
tions,  the  conservators  of  large  and  widely  extended 
interests,  simply  for  having  followed  rules  of  action 
adopted  for  them  by  the  General  Assembly  ?  So  they 
reasoned.  We  say  this,  not  to  vindicate  their  position, 
but  only  to  state  it.  The  other  side  took  a  different  view, 
and  their  arguments  are  on  record.  But  these  were 
theirs,  and  must  be  considered,  if  we  would  understand 
their  action.  They  held  the  act  of  exclusion  to  be  un 
constitutional,  and  felt  bound,  not  only  in  justice  to 
their  brethren,  deprived,  as  they  thought,  of  rights 
sacredly  secured  to  them,  but  in  justice  also  to  the 
church  itself,  and  to  their  own  constitutional  pledges, 
to  make  common  cause  with  those  brethren,  and  organ 
ize  the  General  Assembly  on  what  they  deemed  the 
only  true  principles.  This  they  did ;  and  by  the  subse 
quent  course  of  events,  particularly  by  the  final  decision 
of  the  court  in  Bank,  found  themselves,  against  their 
wishes  and  expectations,  a  separate  body. 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  surprise  to  many,  that  the 
New  School  party,  immediately  upon  the  disruption, 
should  have  exhibited  so  little  strength  and  so  great 
a  lack  of  decision.  Up  to  that  time  they  had  been  a 
strong,  compact,  and  steadily  advancing  party.  They 
claimed  to  be  the  majority,  and  no  doubt  included  in 
their  ranks  a  large  share  of  the  aggressive  activity  of 
the  church  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  young  men. 
In  numbers,  the  two  parties  were  nearly  balanced,  and 


IHSTOEICAL    KEVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  53 

every  year  there  was  a  sharp  struggle  for  the  ascend 
ency  in  the  General  Assembly.  But  during  seven  years, 
from  1831  to  1837,  inclusive,  the  New  School  held  the 
majority  in  that  body  five  times,  and  their  rivals  of 
the  Old  School  only  tioice.  It  might  naturally  have 
been  expected,  that  in  case  of  a  division,  the  advantage 
in  respect  to  efficiency,  organic  life,  and  growth  would 
have  been  on  their  side.  Why  the  result  was  otherwise 
will  be  seen  when  we  consider  the  obstacles. 

Unquestionably  the  blow  which  severed  them  from 
the  legally  recognized  Presbyterian  church  was  to  them 
a  stunning  blow.  Its  decisive  character,  partly  because 
of  its  unexpected  occurrence,  they  failed  at  first  to  un 
derstand;  to  use  a  modern  military  phrase,  it  quite 
demoralized  them.  It  loosened  all  the  bonds  of  their 
organic  union.  Their  membership  began  at  once  to  fly 
apart.  Many  who  adhered  to  the  body  lost  their  inter 
est  in  it.  For  many  years  they  scarcely  knew  whom 
they  could  rely  upon  as  permanently  of  their  number. 
It  crippled  their  resources.  It  separated  them  from 
their  strongest  institutions.  It  threw  suspicion,  not 
only  on  the  soundness  of  their  faith,  —  the  alleged  de 
fects  of  which  had  been  assigned  as  one  of  the  chief 
motives  of  the  acts  of  excision,  —  but  the  genuineness 
of  their  denominational  standing.  It  even  raised  the 
question  of  their  right  to  exist  as  an  organized  body. 
Indeed,  scarcely  had  the  disruption  occurred,  when  the 
standard  of  another  denomination  was  openly  raised 
within  their  own  camp,  among  those  who  had  professed 
to  be  of  them ;  and  from  the  highest  watch-tower  of 
the  New  School  citadel,  as  it  then  regarded  itself,  rang 
out  the  cry  of  revolt,  "  To  your  tents,  O  Israel." 


54  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

The  disadvantage  was  increased  by  the  policy  which 
the  other  party,  awakened  to  new  life  and  organic  en 
ergy  by  the  separation,  saw  fit  to  adopt  in  regard  to 
them ;  the  policy  of  " absorption"  so  called.  In  their 
view,  the  separation  was  final.  Considered  as  an  organ 
ized  body,  they  did  not  know  the  New  School ;  they  did 
not  suppose  it  could  live.  But  its  elements,  of  which 
a  large  part  were  still  held  in  esteem  by  them,  they 
desired  to  recover.  Hence,  immediately  on  the  with 
drawal  of  the  New  School,  they  adopted  a  resolution 
which  operated,  during  the  whole  period  which  fol 
lowed,  as  a  standing  invitation  to  churches,  ministers, 
presbyteries,  and  minorities  of  presbyteries,  to  disconnect 
themselves  from  the  New  School  and  become  united 
with  the  Old  School  Assembly.  Taken  from  their  own 
point  of  view,  this  was  an  affectionate  invitation  to  all 
sound  Presbyterians,  unhappily  separated  from  the 
true  Presbyterian  fold,  to  return,  with  an  assurance  of 
welcome.  Taken  from  that  of  the  New  School,  it  was 
an  invitation  and  encouragement  to  unfaithfulness,  dis 
turbing  and  disintegrating  their  ranks,  and  so  a  source 
of  irritation  and  distrust. 

In  the  light  of  recent  events  over  which  we  all  re 
joice  and  thank  God,  it  will  be  held  as  an  honor  to  the 
Christian  spirit  of  the  New  School,  though  it  delayed 
the  consolidation  of  the  body  and  the  settlement  of 
their  denominational  plans,  that,  for  several  years, 
amidst  those  troubled  scenes,  they  did  not  give  up  the 
hope  or  effort  to  bring  about  a  reunion  of  the  church. 
In  a  convention  held  just  before  the  disruption,  they  re 
solved,  and  sent  the  resolution  to  a  convention  of  their 
brethren,  "that  we  are  ready  to  co-operate  in  any  ef- 


IIISTOKICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE   CHURCH.  55 

forts  for  pacification  that  are  constitutional,  and  which 
shall  recognize  the  regular  standing  and  secure  the 
rights  of  the  entire  church."  The  day  after  the  separ 
ation  took  place,  their  General  Assembly  resolved  as  fol 
lows  :  "  That  this  body  is  willing  to  agree  to  any  rea 
sonable  measures  for  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  dif 
ficulties  existing  in  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  and  will 
receive  and  respectfully  consider  any  propositions  that 
may  be  made  for  that  purpose."  In  1839,  they  pro 
posed  a  "  plan  of  peaceable  division,"  "  designed  only," 
as  they  say,  "  to  secure  our  constitutional  privileges  as 
Presbyterians,"  while  it  relinquished  to  the  other  body 
"  all  the  chartered  rights,  institutions,  and  funds  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church."  It  was  not  till  the  year  1840, 
as  the  Assembly  say,  that  they  relinquished  the  idea 
of  reunion,  and,  "  coming  reluctantly  to  the  conclusion 
that  union  was  impracticable,  corrected  their  roll,  and 
dropped  from  it  the  names  of  those  brethren  in  defer 
ence  to  their  feelings."  One  more  proposition,  though 
only  for  a  mutual  recognition  of  each  other  as  bodies 
of  Christian  brethren,  by  communing  together  at  the 
Lord's  table,  was  made  during  the  session  of  the  two 
Assemblies,  in  the  same  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  1846. 
None  of  these  proposals  were  successful.  No  doubt 
they  were  all  made,  as  the  Assembly  declare,  "  in  good 
faith,  and  with  the  earnest  desire  and  hope  that  they 
might  be  met  in  the  spirit  that  prompted  them."  No 
doubt  the  one  last  named  raised,  in  the  Old  School  As 
sembly,  an  embarrassing  question.  Most  of  them  would 
gladly  have  accepted  the  invitation,  had  they  regarded 
it  as  expedient  to  do  so.  And  they  rejected  it,  although 
decisively,  yet  kindly.  The  result  served  to  convince 


56  PEESBYTEKIAlSr    REUNION. 

the  New  School,  of  what  perhaps  it  would  have  been 
better  for  them  to  have  understood  earlier,  that,  however 
desirable  union  might  be  on  general  grounds,  the  time 
had  not  come  for  them  to  be  pressing  proposals  to  that 
effect  on  the  consideration  of  their  brethren;  and  that 
the  best  thing  they  could  do  in  existing  circumstances, 
was  to  go  about  their  separate  work,  and  build  up  as 
best  they  might,  their  own  particular  section  of  the  for 
tifications  of  Zion. 

This  independent  action,  necessary  to  their  growth 
and  vigor  as  a  denomination,  was  still  further  checked, 
and  that  growth  and  vigor  hindered,  by  the  very  unsec- 
tarian  —  we  might  say  undenominational  —  spirit  that 
pervaded  the  body.  Many  of  them  were  New  Eng 
land  men,  born  and  educated  in  another  denomination ; 
and  though,  by  conviction,  they  had  heartily  adopted 
the  Presbyterian  system,  they  did  not  regard  their  own 
section  of  the  church  as  the  only  true  church,  and 
shrunk  sensitively  from  even  the  appearance  of  prose- 
lytism.  This  was  manifest  to  a  considerable  degree  in 
their  relations  to  the  Old  School,  bitterly  as  they  re 
membered  the  acts  of  excision;  and  still  more  as  res 
pected  the  Congregationalists,  among  whom  were  the 
near  relatives  and  fellow-students  of  many  of  them,  for 
the  sake  of  whose  fellowship  and  co-operation  they  had 
incurred  in  their  own  denomination  the  evils  of  suspic 
ion  and  disruption.  Some  may  ask  here,  Why,  with 
these  views,  did  they  insist  on  keeping  up  their  distinct 
organization  ?  Why  not  rather  abandon  it,  and  allow 
its  elements  to  fall  off,  on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  to 
their  natural  affinities, —  the  strong  Presbyterians  to  the 
Old  School,  and  those  who  had  little  objections  to  Con- 


HISTOEICAL    REVIEW    OF    THE    CHUECH.  57 

gregationalism,  to  the  Congregationalists.  But  the  re 
ply  is  obvious.  Here  was  a  large  body  of  churches, 
say  fifteen  hundred,  more  or  less,  that  were  neither  of 
the  one  extreme  nor  of  the  other.  They  were  Presby 
terians,  and  they  were  not  Presbyterians  on  the  basis  of 
1837  and  1838.  These  churches  were  to  be  cared  for; 
the  great  religious  interests  involved  in  them  were  to 
be  preserved.  Their  resources  and  working  powers 
were  to  be  called  forth  and  made  available.  None  but 
a  New  School  Presbyterian  church,  at  that  juncture, 
could  have  performed  this  service.  And  to  perform  it, 
that  church  must  not  only  maintain  its  existence,  and 
resist  disintegration,  but  increase,  by  all  fair  and  Chris 
tian  means,  its  organic  strength  and  efficiency.  A  sec 
tarian  spirit  is,  no  doubt,  to  be  reprobated.  Denomin- 
ationalism  may  not  be,  on  the  whole,  the  best  principle 
for  the  distribution  of  the  church.  But  while  denom 
inations  exist,  each  is  made  responsible  for  its  own. 
And  a  certain  degree  of  the  denominational  esprit  du 
corps  is  therefore  indispensable  to  the  common  inter 
est.  The  Congregationalists,  looking  to  the  interests 
of  Evangelical  Protestantism  in  our  land,  and  of  the 
Redeemer's  Kingdom,  have  occasion  to  rejoice;  and 
the  Old  School,  looking  to  the  fair  proportions,  happy 
fellowship,  and  augmented  strength  of  the  reunited 
Presbyterian  Church  does  rejoice  to-day,  that  the  New 
School  body,  at  that  critical  period  of  its  history,  did 
not  wholly  forget  its  divine  mission  as  a  distinct  body 
of  Evangelical  Christians.  Had  it  sooner  and  more 
vigorously  roused  itself  to  this  duty,  it  would,  no 
doubt,  have  done  .more  for  the  common  advancement. 
One  more  hinderance  in  its  way,  may  be  found  in 


58  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

the  peculiar  condition  and  stage  of  growth  at  which 
the  disruption  found  a  large  part  of  its  churches. 
Most  of  them  had  been  missionary  churches  and  were 
recently  established;  many  of  them  were  still  benefic 
iaries  of  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society. 
They  were,  it  is  true,  a  noble  band  of  true-hearted, 
zealous-minded  Christian  people,  deeply  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  great  revivals  which  had  just  before 
rejoiced  the  country  and  astonished  the  Christian  world, 
and  full  of  evangelical  fervor.  But  they  lacked  re 
sources.  Most  of  the  old  wealthy  churches  went  with 
the  other  division.  So  did  all  the  old  and  well-endowed 
institutions.  Those  wThich  remained  were  in  their  in 
fancy,  weak,  unendowed,  and  struggling  for  existence. 
Lane  Seminary  received  its  first  student  in  1829. 
Union,  in  New  York,  was  organized  in  1836.  Auburn 
was  a  few  years  older,  but  was  not  strong.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  colleges.  Most  of  the  ministers 
were  young  men,  not  much  versed  in  matters  of  ecclesi 
astical  policy.  A  few,  such  as  Dr.  Richards  of  Auburn, 
were  men  of  ripe  experience  and  comprehensive  and 
far-seeing  judgment.  But  the  number  of  such  men  was 
not  large,  and  most  of  their  contemporaries  were  in  the 
other  body.  The  mass  of  those  that  remained  wTere 
rather  men  of  zeal  and  ability,  than  experience  and  rep 
utation.  Their  best  power  and  weightiest  influence  was 
in  the  future. 

In  such  circumstances,  it  is  not  strange  that  some 
mistakes  should  have  been  made  increasing  the  embar 
rassment.  One  of  these,  the  impolicy  of  which  the 
church  afterwards  saw  and  retrieved,  was  the  alteration 
of  the  constitutional  rules.  The  CONFESSION  of  FAITH 


HISTOEICAL    REVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  59 

was  never  altered,  even  in  a  penstroke ;  but  the  FORM 
of  GOVERNMENT  was,  in  a  few  particulars.  Partly 
o\ving  to  a  weariness  with  past  struggles,  the  General 
Assembly  had  conie  to  be  regarded  with  less  favor,  and 
its  importance  to  the  Presbyterian  system  less  highly 
estimated  than  formerly.  The  impression  had  begun 
to  gain  ground  before  the  division,  and  had  the  sanc 
tion  of  some  eminent  names  in  both  parties,  that  if 
appeals  could  be  stopped  with  synods,  annual  Assem 
blies  might  well  be  dispensed  with.  Accordingly,  in 
the  year  1839,  the  next  year  after  the  separation,  over 
tures  were  sent  down  to  the  presbyteries,  which,  being 
approved,  took  effect  in  the  year  1840,  altering  the 
basis  of  representation,  making  the  synods  courts  of 
ultimate  appeal,  and  providing  for  triennial  instead  of 
annual  Assemblies.  A  committee  ad  interim  was  also 
erected,  invested  with  large  but  not  well-defined  powers. 
The  effect  especially  at  so  critical  a  period,  may  be 
easily  supposed.  It  left  the  body  with  at  best  a  very 
weak  and  inadequate  bond  of  union,  and  at  a  time  when 
the  most  constant  vigilance,  concert,  and  co-operation 
were  essential  to  safety,  with  no  provision,  during  re 
peated  intervals  of  three  years,  for  the  slightest  common 
consultation  upon  its  interests  and  dangers.  That  the 
church  did  not  make  complete  shipwreck  during  the 
nine  years  of  the  continuance  of  this  policy,  is  indeed 
far  more  to  be  wondered  at,  than  that  it  should  be 
found  to  have  lacked  much  in  organic  strength  and 
successful  progress. 

But  while,  from  these  and  other  causes  hereafter  to 
be  noticed,  the  progress  and  efficiency  of  the  body, 
during  the  first  half  of  its  existence,  was  not  as  great 


60  PEESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

as  might  otherwise  have  been  expected,  justice  to  its 
history  requires  us  to  add  that,  during  all  that  period 
of  discouragement,  an  important  work  was  going  on,  in 
it  and  by  it,  both  for  immediate  results  and  in  prepara 
tion  for  the  future.  The  "  co-operative  "  or  undenomi 
national  method  to  which  the  New  School  strongly 
adhered  in  their  work  of  evangelization,  so  merged 
their  contributions  with  those  of  a  sister  denomination, 
that  it  is  not  easy  to  determine,  except  approximately, 
what  portion  of  the  common  results  was  due  to  their 
agency.  But  there  is  reason  to  believe  it  was  in  full 
proportion,  both  in  men  and  money,  to  their  compara 
tive  ability.  With  generous  aid  afforded  them  from 
New  England,  they  sustained  and  strengthened  their 
numerous  feeble  and  infant  churches,  and  made  provi 
sions  for  the  support  and  endowment  of  their  theologi 
cal  and  literary  institutions.  Some  of  these  suffered 
severely  from  the  financial  embarrassments  which  well- 
nigh  overwhelmed  the  country  just  at  the  occurrence 
of  the  separation,  and  it  was  only  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  and  at  the  cost  of  great  self-denials  and  ex 
ertions  on  the  part  of  their  guardians  and  Faculties, 
that  they  were  kept  alive,  to  be  the  blessings  which 
they  now  are  to  the  church.  The  records  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  give  tokens  likewise  of  a  high  degree  of 
devotion  to  the  work  of  the  gospel,  in  the  frequent, 
very  extensive,  and  deeply  moving  revivals  of  religion, 
which  obtain  notice  in  its  Pastoral  letters  and  official 
"  Narratives  of  the  state  of  Religion."  Large  numbers 
were,  from  year  to  year,  added  to  the  church ;  bold  and 
judicious  testimony  was  uttered  for  the  sanctity  of  the 
Sabbath,  the  purity  and  integrity  of  the  Christian  doc- 


HISTOEICAL    BE  VIEW    OF    THE    CHUKCH.  61 

trines,  tlie  promotion  of  temperance,  and  against  the 
worldly  spirit  threatening  in  various  ways  to  corrupt 
the  piety  of  the  church.  In  that  most  critical  and 
formative  period  in  the  history  of  our  Western  country, 
there  went  forth  steadily,  it  is  believed,  from  this  de 
voted  band  of  hard-working,  self-denying  ministers  and 
churches,  an  influence  of  vast  though  silent  efficacy,  to 
make  that  great  and  now  powerful  section  of  our  coun 
try  what  it  is,  —  eminently  Christian.  Meanwhile,  a 
process  was  going  on  within  the  body  itself,  whose  bene 
ficial  results  some,  no  doubt,  were  then  unable  to  foresee. 
That  process  of  depletion  which  began,  as  we  have  seen, 
at  the  beginning  of  its  troubles,  —  the  dropping  off,  on 
this  side  and  on  that,  of  men  and  churches,  that  had 
been  considered  in  some  cases  leaders  of  the  body,  and 
that  certainly  did  contribute  to  swell  its  numbers  and 
apparent  strength, — was  gradually  disentangling  it  from 
hurtful  complications,  removing  the  embarrassment  and 
peril  of  alien  counsels,  and  promoting  unity  and  homo- 
geneousness  among  its  members.  Some  of  those  trusted 
leaders,  who,  in  the  days  of  adversity,  went  away,  and 
walked  no  more  with  them,  were  among  the  rowers 
who  rowed  them  into  the  deep  waters,  and  whose  un 
wise  measures,  or  vulnerable  expressions,  had  made 
their  views  and  actions  to  be  misinterpreted  by  those 
who  were  really  of  the  same  principles.  At  the  same 
time,  questions  vital  to  their  future  peace  and  prosper 
ity  were  getting  discussed  and  settled.  Such  was  the 
question  of  slavery,  to  the  discussion  of  which  they 
gave  the  utmost  latitude,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter, 
and  with  respect  to  which  they  reached  conclusions 
which,  during  all  the  fierce  struggles  which  afterwards 


62  PEESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

agitated  the  country,  they  saw  no  reason  to  alter. 
Night  seems  to  most  men,  especially  if  it  be  overcast 
with  clouds,  a  season  of  gloom ;  but  it  adds  mightily, 
with  its  refreshing  moisture  and  its  sparkling  dew- 
drops,  to  the  beauty  and  freshness  of  the  morning. 
Winter  seems  a  cheerless  and  barren  interval;  but 
spring  owes  not  a  little  of  its  bursting  life,  and  sum 
mer  and  autumn  of  their  growth  and  wealth  of  prod 
ucts,  to  its  silent  processes.  So,  often,  does  the  church 
of  God  look  back  with  gratitude  to  her  seasons  of 
discouragement,  as  she  looks  forward,  and  takes  up  the 
words  of  hope,  — 

' '  The  winter  season  has  been  sharp, 
But  spring  shall  all  its  wastes  repair." 

It  has  been  necessary  to  dwell  thus  long  upon  this 
period  of  depression,  that  we  might  the  better  under 
stand  that  of  the  new  life  and  activity  which  followed. 
The  stirrings  of  this  new  life  began  to  discover  them 
selves  during  the  meeting  of  the  triennial  Assembly  in 
1846.  Most  of  the  time  in  that  meeting,  to  the  great 
disparagement  of  the  Assembly  in  the  eyes  of  some, 
was  occupied  with  the  discussion  of  slavery.  In  con 
sequence  of  this,  as  appears  from  the  minutes,  "  busi 
ness  of  vast  importance  to  the  prosperity  of  our  church, 
especially  at  the  West,  was  left  unfinished  and  unat- 
tempted ;  business  wThich,  in  the  opinion  of  many  enti 
tled  to  belief,  must  be  done  soon,  or  it  would  be  wholly 
beyond  our  power  ever  to  do  it."  In  this  view,  the  evil 
of  triennial,  instead  of  annual  Assemblies,  began  to 
be  apparent  to  many.  "  It  was  not  surprising,"  they 
said,  "that  during  the  long  interval,  the  churches  at 
the  West,  in  all  stages  of  existence,  among  a  heterogen- 


HISTOKICAL   REVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  63 

eous  and  rapidly  increasing  population,  should  feel  the 
want  of  the  presence  and  wisdom  of  the  General  As 
sembly,  both  to  attract  around  a  common  centre  these 
diverse  elements,  and  to  devise  plans  for  the  extension 
and  consolidation  of  our  branch  of  the  church.  That 
the  exigency  might  not  fail  to  be  met,  an  adjourned 
meeting  of  the  Assembly  was  agreed  upon,  to  be  held 
in  the  spring  of  the  next  year ;  and  as  the  measure  was 
then  without  precedent,  and  some  doubted  its  legality, 
the  opinion  of  Chancellor  Kent  was  procured,  who  gave 
it  the  sanction  of  his  weighty  authority. 

In  the  spring  of  1847,  the  Assembly  came  together 
in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  full  of  the  spirit  of  their  im 
portant  mission.  A  memorial  was  presented  from 
Rev.  Thornton  A.  Mills,  not  a  member  of  the  Assem 
bly,  which,  though  not  to  be  found  upon  the  minutes, 
deserves  to  be  carefully  preserved,  both  as  a  memorial 
of  the  man,  and  an  important  monument  of  progress  in 
the  history  of  the  church.  The  opening  paragraph  is 
characteristic :  "  That,  being  a  native  of  the  great  West, 
and  expecting  to  live  and  die  in  the  service  of  Christ, 
endeavoring  to  spread  the  influence  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  throughout  its  wide  limits,  he  feels  peculiar 
pleasure  in  welcoming  the  Assembly,  at  this,  its  first 
session  in  the  great  city  of  the  West,  and  in  learning 
that  one  object  of  the  adjournment,  was  to  consider  the 
condition  of  our  western  churches,  and  devise  means  for 
their  enlargement.  Having  been  all  his  life  an  observer 
of  the  state  of  things,  and  having  for  several  years  past 
possessed  peculiar  advantages  of  acquiring  knowledge 
from  his  connection  with  the  Home  Missionary  Society 
through  a  large  portion  of  this  region,  he  trusts  it  will 


64  PEESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

not  be  deemed  presumptuous  if,  in  the  form  of  a  mem 
orial,  he  ventures  to  offer  a  few  suggestions  as  to  the 
best  means  of  extending  the  influence  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  as  it  is  connected  with  our  church."  In  this 
memorial,  four  points  are  very  clearly  presented  and 
forcibly  urged.  1.  The  great  want  of  places  of  public 
worship.  ."The  power  of  Presbyterianism"  lies  "in 
the  continuity  of  its  efforts;  and  this  cannot  be  se 
cured  without  permanent  church  accommodations." 

2.  The  expediency  of  a  temporary  system  of  itineracy 
under  the  direction  of  presbyteries  and  synods.     Pres 
byterianism  cannot  be  made  aggressive  without  this. 

3.  The  need  of  some  new  measures  to  supply  suitable 
ministers,   "men  apt  to  teach,  who  will  persevere  in 
laying  the  foundations  of  many  generations."     4.  The 
need  of  some  special  provision  for  the  wants  of   our 
foreign  population,  especially  the  Germans. 

This  memorial,  carefully  considered  in  a  committee, 
and  freely  discussed  in  interlocutory  meetings  of  the 
Assembly,  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  a  plan  which  re 
quired  only  to  be  matured  and  carried  out,  to  place  the 
church  on  a  new  platform  in  respect  to  its  prosperity 
and  usefulness.  "Every  pastor,  session,  and  church," 
were  exhorted  to  "  regard  themselves  as  a  missionary 
body,  established  in  the  midst  of  the  most  important 
missionary  field  in  the  world,  and  the  object  of  their 
vocation  to  lead  all  around  them  to  Christ."  To  this 
end,  the  congregations  were  to  be  "thoroughly  in 
structed,"  "thoroughly  grounded  in  the  doctrines  of 
grace"  and  particularly  " in  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible 
as  contained  in  the  standards  of  our  cliurcli"  All  the 
points  contained  in  the  memorial  were  urged  as  of 


HISTORICAL    KEVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  65 

great  importance,  and  it  was  recommended  "  to  all  our 
presbyteries  carefully  to  survey  their  whole  territory, 
and  apply  to  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  for  one  or 
more  missionaries  who  shall  be  employed  in  itinerating 
among  the  destitute." 

This  short  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  in 
1847,  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  in  the 
annals  of  the  New  School  Church,  not  so  much  for 
what  it  accomplished,  as  what  it  put  in  process  of  ac 
complishment,  as  indicative  of  the  new  spirit  which  was 
beginning  to  arise  in  the  body  and  prophetic  of  its  fu 
ture  advancement.  In  its  action  are  to  be  found  the 
germs  of  the  whole  subsequent  policy.  Nor  did  the 
Assembly  dissolve  itself  till  it  had  taken  measures  to 
reinvigorate  the  impaired  system  by  a  return  to  the  old 
rule  of  annual  Assemblies,  and  the  restoration  of  the 

constitution  to  its  original  state ;  of  which  the  former 
~  ' 

was  effected  in  1849,  and  the  latter  one  year  later.  On 
this  last  point,  an  able  report,  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Hatfield 
and  containing  the  history  of  this  whole  subject,  in  the 
light  of  which  the  Assembly  and  the  Presbyteries 
finally  acted,  is  to  be  found  in  the  appendix  to  the  min 
utes  for  1849. 

Various  causes  contributed  to  retard,  for  several 
years,  the  full  execution  or  completion  of  the  plan. 
But  it  was  not  dropped  or  overlooked.  The  question 
was  freely  discussed,  information  sought,  committees 
raised  to  consider  it  during  the  intervals  of  the  As 
semblies,  and,  from  year  to  year,  progress  was  made. 
In  1851,  Dr.  Mills  preached,  by  previous  appointment, 
an  able  and  stirring  sermon  on  Home  Missions,  from 
Isaiah  liv.  2,  3 :  "  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent,"  <fec., 

4 


66  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

and  the  whole  subject,  having  been  again  fully  dis 
cussed,  was  referred  to  a  special  committee  of  nine, 
among  whom  were  some  of  the  ablest  ministers  of  the 
church,  and  of  which  Dr.  Mills  was  the  chairman,  with 
directions  to  report  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

Such  was  the  posture  of  affairs  when  the  Assembly 
met  at  Washington,  in  1852.  It  was  an  earnest,  reso 
lute,  hard-working  Assembly.  The  church  was  repre 
sented  by  some  of  its  ablest  men.  They  came  together 
from  all  parts  of  the  field,  North  and  South,  and  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  not  to  see  the  sights  of 
Washington,  in  which  recreation  they  indulged  but 
sparingly,  but  to  devise  and  fix  upon  measures  to  make 
their  beloved  church  what  they  all  felt  she  ought  to  be, 
-  a  power  in  the  land.  An  excursion  to  Mount  Ver- 
non,  and  a  visit  in  a  body  to  the  Presidential  mansion, 
where,  being  introduced  in  a  felicitous  speech,  by  their 
Moderator,  Dr.  Win.  Adams,  they  were  received  with 
great  courtesy  by  President  Filmore,  who  complimented 
them  in  his  happiest  manner,  as  an  "Ecclesiastical 
Congress  of  the  United  States,"  occupied  the  hours  of 
Saturday,  and  gave  opportunity  for  free  conference  on 
the  work  before  them;  and  their  unfeigned  love  of 
country,  and  devotion  to  its  interests,  always  character 
istic  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  all  its  history,  found 
expression  in  the  presentation  of  a  block  of  marble,  to 
be  inserted  in  the  monument  to  the  memory  of  Wash 
ington,  bearing  that  most  fitting  emblem,  an  open  Bi 
ble,  with  the  inscription:  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF 
THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF 
AMERICA,  IN  SESSION  IN  WASHINGTON  CITY,  MAY,  1852. 
These  were  pleasant  incidents,  occupying  little  time 


HISTORICAL    EEVTEW    OF   THE    CHUECH.  67 

and  serving,  as  did  the  very  genius  of  the  place,  to 
stimulate  their  zeal,  and  give  them  enlarged  concep 
tions  of  the  sublime  mission  of  the  church  in  this  great 
and  growing  country,  at  once  to  "walk  through  the 
land  in  the  length  of  it  and  the  breadth  of  it,"  and 
take  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  Master. 

It  was  well  understood  from  before  the  appointment 
of  the  commissioners,  that  the  grand  subject  of  interest 
in  this  Assembly  would  be  the  report  of  the  special 
committee  and  the  work  of  CHUECH  EXTENSION,  which 
that  committee  had  in  charge.  Dr.  Mills  and  his  asso 
ciates  had  prepared  a  detailed  plan  for  carrying  into 
effect  the  long-cherished  purpose  of  the  church.  It 
consisted  of  three  principal  sections,  which  were  taken 
up  and  discussed  seriatim  •  viz.,  that  on  Education  for 
the  Ministry,  on  Home  Missions,  and  on  Doctrinal 
Tracts.  The  stress  of  the  discussion  came  upon  the 
first,  chiefly  perhaps  because  it  was  taken  up  first ;  for 
they  all  involved  substantially  the  same  principles,  and 
the  adoption  of  either  was  felt  to  be  a  virtual  commit 
tal  of  the  Assembly  to  the  whole  policy.  The  discus 
sion  was  able,  earnest,  and  protracted.  Two  parties  dis 
covered  themselves,  one,  —  of  those  particularly  jealous 
of  what  might  in  any  degree  impair  or  imperil  the 
system  of  voluntary  societies,  to  which  the  church  had 
been  committed  from  the  beginning ;  the  other  making 
no  objection  to  that  system,  but  resolute  to  secure,  at 
whatever  cost  in  that  direction,  a  more  efficient  method 
of  Church  Extension  and  Home  Evangelization.  Elab 
orate  arguments  were  presented  on  the  one  side  by  Dr. 
Asa  D.  Smith,  then  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com 
mittee  of  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society,  and 


68  PRESBYTERIAN    RETIMON". 

Dr.  Beman,  that  prince  of  debaters,  who  had  always 
been  an  earnest  champion  of  the  voluntary  or  non- 
ecclesiastical  system.  These  were  answered  by  argu 
ments,  if  not  as  elaborate,  yet  quite  as  effective,  at 
least  with  those  predisposed  to  that  side  of  the  ques 
tion.  In  particular,  the  commissioners  from  the  West 
were  drawn  out  and  encouraged  to  tell  freely  the  story 
of  their  embarrassments  under  existing  methods ;  which 
they  did,  using  their  rifles  as  practised  marksmen,  in 
pithy  speeches  or  plain  statements  of  facts.  The  de 
bate,  although  eager,  was  eminently  courteous  and  fra 
ternal,  and  resulted  in  the  very  general  conviction  that 
something  must  be  done,  and  that  quickly,  if  we  would 
perform  our  proper  part  in  carrying  forward  the  Lord's 
work,  or  save  ourselves  from  being  absorbed  on  the  one 
hand,  or  losing  our  very  name  as  Presbyterian  Chris 
tians  on  the  other. 

At  the  end  of  three  days  the  discussion  was  arrested, 
and  the  whole  subject  referred  to  a  special  committee. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  recall  the  names  of  those  who 
at  this  important  juncture  were  entrusted  with  the  re 
sponsibility  of  harmonizing  the  opinions  of  their  breth 
ren  and  recommending  the  new  plan  of  operations. 
They  stand  on  record  as  follows :  "  Rev.  Messrs.  Stephen 
Taylor,  D.D.,  Nathan  S.  S.  Beman,  D.D.,  Philemon  H. 
Fowler,  Asa  D.  Smith,  D.D.,  George  A.  Lyon,  D.D., 
Samuel  W.  Fisher,  and  Robert  W.  Patterson ;  with  the 
Hon.  Messrs.  William  Darling,  William  Jessup,  LL.D., 
and  John  Mason,  and  Messrs  John  Ogden  and  Horace 
Maynard."  Their  report  was  on  the  first  section  only, 
-  that  on  Education  for  the  ministry ;  and  the  two 
others  having  received  several  amendments  in  the  body 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OP   THE    CHURCH.  69 

itself,  the  whole  plan  was  adopted  by  the  General  As 
sembly  with  great  unanimity. 

The  leading  feature  of  the  plan,  in  the  intention  of 
the  Assembly,  was  the  combination  of  the  voluntary  or 
co-operative  system,  with  the  effective  and  responsible 
supervision  by  the  church  judicatories  of  the  work  of 
the  church. 

In  the  department  of  doctrinal  tracts,  there  was  no 
difficulty,  because  the  field  was  unoccupied.  A  commit 
tee  of  nine  were  appointed,  whose  duty  it  should  be  "  to 
superintend  the  publication  of  a  series  of  tracts  explan 
atory  of  the  doctrines,  government,  and  missionary  pol 
icy  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  the  Assembly  should 
from  time  to  time  direct." 

In  the  department  of  education,  existing  education 
societies,  with  which  the  presbyteries  or  churches  might 
co-operate,  were  left  undisturbed,  but  were  requested  to 
adopt  such  a  plan  of  operation  and  correspondence  as 
would  make  the  parties  concerned  mutual  helps  /  and, 
for  the  West,  as  there  was  no  such  society  there,  it  was 
recommended  that  one  should  be  formed,  to  be  called 
the  Western  Education  Society,  which  should  arrange 
its  annual  meetings  to  be  at  the  same  time  and  place  as 
those  of  the  Assembly,  and  permit  the  members  of  the 
Assembly,  ex  officio,  to  act  as  members  of  the  society. 
These  societies  were  requested  to  furnish  annual  reports 
to  the  Assembly,  "  as  far  as  their  operations "  should 
"  relate  to  our  church ; "  and  the  Presbyteries  were  to 
appoint  standing  committees  to  take  charge  of  the 
funds  collected  in  their  churches,  exercise  supervision 
over  their  young  men,  and  press  the  subject  in  all  its 


70  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

bearings  on  the  attention  and  action  of  their  congrega 
tions. 

In  the  department  of  Home  Missions,  "the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society,"  say  the  Assembly  "is  here 
by  recommended  as  the  agency  through  which,  as  here 
tofore,  the  work  of  Domestic  Missions  shall  be  done." 
Each  presbytery  was  to  have  a  standing  committee  on 
church  extension,  "  to  see  that,  by  its  own  ministers  or 
otherwise,  the  claims  of  Home  Missions  should  be  urged 
upon  the  churches,  and  funds  raised  and  paid  into  the 
treasury  of  the  society  with  as  little  expense  to  it  as  pos 
sible  ;  to  recommend  all  applications  for  aid,  and  keep 
the  amounts  asked  for  as  low  as  would  answer  the  pur 
pose."  In  order  to  avoid  conflicting  and  irresponsible 
action,  while  the  Assembly  would  not  abridge  the  right 
of  the  society  "  to  obtain  all  needed  information  in  re 
gard  to  applications  "  for  aid,  or  "  exercise  its  full  dis 
cretion  as  to  granting  them  in  whole  or  in  part,"  the 
society  was  requested  so  to  arrange  its  system  that  the 
applications  of  the  presbyteries  for  their  churches 
should  not  depend,  as  had  recently  been  growing  to  be 
the  custom,  on  the  "official  sanction"  of  the  agents  of 
the  society.  The  synods  also  were  to  have  each  a 
church  extension  committee,  and  on  them  was  devolved 
the  duty  of  forming  a  plan,  and  devising  means  to  aid 
feeble  churches,  either  by  loan  or  gift,  in  erecting 
houses  of  worship ;  for  which  object  they  should  require 
of  the  churches  to  make  each  a  yearly  collection.  The 
Assembly  also  was  to  have  its  standing  committee,  and 
the  whole  work  was  to  come  up  annually,  by  reports, 
for  its  supervision. 

The  most  important  provision  of  the  plan  in  this  de- 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   TILE    CHURCH.  71 

partment,  as  the  case  then  stood,  was  the  sixth  item, 
viz. :  "  Each  presbytery  whose  circumstances  as  to 
churches  and  members  demand  it,  is  recommended  to 
appoint  an  itinerant  missionary  within  its  bounds  for 
each  synod,  where  it  is  best  that  two  or  more,  or  all  of 
its  presbyteries  shall  be  united  in  this  work,  is  recom 
mended  to  appoint  such  a  missionary,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  act  as  a  travelling  evangelist  after  the 
scriptural  pattern,  to  explore  destitute  fields,  to  prepare 
the  way  for  the  formation  of  new  churches  by  the  pres 
byteries,  to  seek  for  ministers  to  take  charge  of  them, 
to  assist  and  direct  in  building  houses  of  worship  in 
destitute  places,  and,  in  all  other  suitable  ways,  under 
the  direction  of  presbyterial  or  synodical  committees, 
promote  the  work  of  church  extension."  The  object  of 
the  provision  is  not  doubtful.  The  Assembly  had  at 
length  awoke  to  its  obligation,  too  much  overlooked  in 
times  past,  to  superintend  the  developement,  in  all 
legitimate  ways,  of  its  oivn  branch  of  the  church,  and 
was  determined  to  do  it,  not  without  regard  to  the 
claims  of  others,  but  with  a  vigilant  and  self-reliant 

'  O 

energy.  That  there  might  be  no  misunderstandings  in 
the  matter,  a  committee  of  five  was  appointed  "  to  con 
fer  with  the  executive  committee  of  the  Home  Mission 
ary  Society,  expressing  to  it  the  confidence  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly,  and  the  churches  it  represents,  and  re 
questing  its  co-operation  in  this  plan,  as  far  as  its  prin 
ciples  will  admit,  and  also  requesting  a  statement  of 
the  principles  on  ivliich  its  appropriations  are  made  to 
the  churches  of  the  several  denominations  of  Christians 
who  support  it,  and  report  the  result  to  the  next  Gen 
eral  Assembly." 


72  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

One  department,  second  to  none  in  importance,  botli 
as  a  necessity  of  the  work,  and  a  bond  of  union  to  the 
church  itself,  viz.,  that  of  aiding  feeble  congregations 
in  the  erection  of  houses  of  worship,  was  not  finally 
acted  upon  till  the  following  year.  The  assembly  of 
1853,  instituted  a  CHURCH  ERECTION  committee,  and,  fol 
lowing  out  a  scheme  devised  and  put  in  successful  op 
eration  in  Missouri,  under  the  influence  of  Dr.  Arteinas 
Bullard,  resolved  to  raise  by  contributions  from  the 
churches  the  sum  of  $100,000,  which  should  constitute 
a  permanent  f mid  for  that  purpose. 

As  a  further  instrument  of  the  new  plan,  the  assem 
bly  at  Washington  took  measures  to  encourage  the 
agency  of  the  periodical  press  as  sustained  by  the 
friends  of  the  church.  An  arrangement,  partially  ef 
fected  with  the  New  York  Evangelist,  and  New  York 
Presbyterian,  then  recently  united,  by  which  that  paper 
should  be  made  to  subserve  the  interests  of  the  denom 
ination,  received  the  approval  of  the  Assembly ;  and  the 
announcement  of  the  recent  establishment  of  a  quar 
terly,  to  be  called  the  PRESBYTERIAN  QUARTERLY  RE 
VIEW,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  to  be  "  under  the 
control  and  superintendence  of  several  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  ministers  of  our  connection,"  called  forth  a 
warm  expression  of  satisfaction,  and  a  cordial  recom 
mendation  of  the  enterprise. 

The  results  of  this  Assembly  were  eminently  grati 
fying  to  the  friends  of  progress.  The  members  went 
home  to  their  presbyteries  and  churches  feeling  that  a 
new  era  had  at  length  opened  on  their  beloved  church. 
It  had  now  fairly  taken  its  stand  as  an  independent 
body  of  Presbyterian  Christians.  It  had  abandoned,  at 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE   CHUECH.  73 

least  for  the  present,  all  thought  of  reunion  with  the 
Old  School,  having  made  its  last  ineffectual  effort,  in 
1849,  in  a  proposition  for  friendly  "correspondence," 
and  with  a  solemn  renewal  of  its  declaration  of  "  readi 
ness  to  meet  in  a  spirit  of  fraternal  kindness  and  Chris 
tian  love  any  overtures  that  may  be  made  to  us  from 
the  other  body,"  resolved,  in  present  circumstances,  "  to 
take  no  further  action  in  the  matter."  In  respect  to 
the  Congregational  churches,  while  it  still  clung  to  the 
idea  of  co-operative  or  voluntary  societies,  regarding 
them,  as  they  had  been  regarded  by  all  parties  at  the 
beginning,  simply  as  suitable  agencies  through  which 
the  church  might  act,  they  still  claimed  for  themselves, 
as  they  freely  conceded  to  their  brethren,  the  right  and 
duty  to  look  after  their  own  safety  and  prosperity  as 
an  organized  body,  and  superintend  and  carry  forward 
their  own  proper  portion  of  the  work  of  the  gospel. 
The  church  had  now,  to  a  degree  never  felt  before, 
the  consciousness  of  a  mission  among  the  churches  of 
Christ,  and  in  the  spirit  of  a  sacred  zeal,  trusting  in 
God,  was  resolved  to  hold  on  its  way,  and  press  for 
ward  in  the  holy  rivalry  of  love  and  good  works. 

But  the  way  was  not  as  clear  yet,  as,  perhaps,  some 
sanguine  men  had  supposed.  It  is  the  lot  of  men  to  en 
counter  antagonisms,  and  that  in  the  best  pursuits  and 
among  the  most  sincere  brethren.  When  the  plans  of 
the  Assembly  were  adopted,  there  seemed  no  doubt 
that  they  could  be  carried  into  execution  with  the 
cordial  concurrence  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society. 
They  were  in  full  accordance  with  the  principles  on 
which  that  society  was  founded  and  which  had  been 
repeated  again  and  again  in  its  official  documents.  In 


74  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

its  earliest  communications  to  the  Christian  public,  it 
had  invited  ecclesiastical  bodies,  "presbyteries,  and  sy 
nods,"  to  become  its  auxiliaries,  and  pledged  itself,  in 
the  most  explicit  manner,  not  to  interfere  in  the  slight 
est  degree  with  their  denominational  preferences  or 
their  denominational  work.  "  It  had  no  desire,"  it  said, 
"  did  it  possess  the  power,  to  assume  the  control  of  mis 
sionary  effort  on  the  field,  any  further  than  it  should  be 
conceded  by  the  confidence  of  the  public."  It  aimed 
only  "to  be  the  servant  of  all  in  building  the  house  of 
Jehovah  in  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land."  This 
is  strong  language ;  but  the  founders  of  the  society  did 
not  mean  to  be  misunderstood.  These  pledges,  had 
they  been  steadily  adhered  to,  wrould  have  secured 
every  object  which  the  General  Assembly  had  in  view. 
The  rules  which  the  society  had  adopted  were  good  in 
the  main.  But  they  left  unprovided  for  some  objects 
which  the  Assembly  thought  quite  indispensable  to  the 
prosperity  of  its  churches.  And  how  were  these  to  be 
supplied  ?  The  question  was  asked,  Cannot  the  society 
so  modify  its  rules  as  to  include  them  ?  This  it  declined 
to  do,  for  reasons  of  which  it  was  competent  to  judge. 
But  its  executive  committee  agreed  with  the  Assem 
bly's  committee,  that  it  wras  better,  on  the  whole,  that 
cases  of  that  class  should  be  provided  for  "  by  such  lo 
cal  arrangements  as  would  not  divert  funds  from  the 
Home  Missionary  Society."  So  far  all  seemed  satisfac 
tory.  The  Assembly's  committee  made  a  temporary 
arrangement  with  a  few  individuals  in  Philadelphia,  to 
supply  the  means,  and  the  work  was  commenced.  But 
finding  that  arrangement  not  sufficiently  reliable,  the 
Assembly,  at  length,  made  a  more  adequate  provision, 


THIRD  CHURCH.  PITTSBURGH,  PA. 


HI3TOKICAL    REVIEW    OP    TIIE    CHUKCII.  V5 

by  the  establislunent,  in  1855,  of  its  CIIUECH  EXTENSION 
COMMITTEE. 

The  functions  of  this  committee  were  strictly  limited. 
It  was  not  to  be  in  "  an  Ecclesiastical  Board,"  or  "  to  in 
terfere  with  the  proper  functions  of  the  Home  Mission 
ary  Society ;  "  but  only  to  provide  for  those  exceptional 
cases  which,  being  important  to  be  met,  could  not  well 
be  included  under  the  society's  general  rules.  The  com 
mittee,  in  their  Declaration  of  Principles,  on  which  they 
proposed  to  govern  themselves,  and  which  were  after 
wards  sanctioned  by  the  Assembly,  are  careful  to  say : 
"  We  have  no  wish  to  divert  funds  from  the  Home  Mis 
sionary  Society.  On  the  contrary,  we  hope  and  expect 
that  this  supplementary  agency,  by  increasing  light, 
will  tend,  both  directly  and  indirectly,  to  enhance  the 
receipts  of  the  society.  We  feel  quite  sure,  that  the 
ends  of  our  appointment  will  be  most  fully  accomplished 
by  preserving,  if  possible,  unharmed,  the  holy  ties  of 
fraternal  love  and  confidence  which  have  so  long  united 
us  and  our  Congregational  brethren,  in  furthering,  at 
home  and  all  over  the  earth,  the  kingdom  of  our 
blessed  Lord." 

But  times  had  changed,  and  were  changing  rapidly ; 
and  what  would  once  have  been  regarded  as  a  matter 
of  mutual  congratulation  was  now  looked  upon  with 
distrust  or  severely  censured.  For  several  years  there 
had  been  a  growing  jealousy  between  the  two  denomi 
nations  co-operating  in  the  society,  especially  at  the 
West.  It  was  gradually  infecting  public  opinion  at  the 
East,  and  was  industriously  fomented  by  a  portion  of 
the  eastern  press.  The  correspondence  between  the 
Assembly  and  some  of  the  Congregational  bodies  had 


76  PKESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

begun  to  be  disturbed  by  it.  The  plan  of  union  abro 
gated  by  the  Old  School,  in  1837,  as  subversive  of 
Presbyterianism,  had  been  abolished  by  the  convention 
at  Albany,  in  1852,  as  injurious  to  Congregational  in 
terests.  Congregationalism,  once  contented  with  its 
New  England  home,  and  regarding  New  School  Pres 
byterianism  as  its  best  representative  in  other  parts  of 
the  country,  had  now,  as  it  had  a  perfect  right  to  do, 
entrenched  itself  at  the  commercial  centre,  and  was 
spreading  itself  as  a  distinct  denomination  over  all 
parts  of  the  Western  field.  The  competition  was  sharp. 
And  the  question  of  slavery,  in  this,  as  in  everything 
else,  took  its  share  as  a  disturbing  element. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  society,  or  rather  its  ex 
ecutive  committee,  allowed  themselves  to  be  drawn  into 
the  controversy.  Their  position  was  no  doubt  a  difficult 
one.  They  made  it  worse  by  undertaking  to  arbitrate 
between  two  great  rival  denominations,  and  assuming 
to  control  the  policy,  at  least,  of  one  of  them.  In  vari 
ous  quarters,  in  the  Congregational  ranks,  the  action  of 
the  General  Assembly,  in  the  establishment  of  its 
Church  Extension  Committee,  was  denounced  as  an 
unfair  and  unfriendly  attempt  to  gain  denominational 
advantage.  The  society  took  up  the  contest,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  execute,  according  to  its  own  discretion,  rules, 
excluding  from  the  benefit  of  the  common  fund,  to 
which  the  Presbyterian  church  largely  contributed,  both 
missionaries  and  churches  who  did  not  themselves,  or 
who  belonged  to  ecclesiastical  bodies  who  did  not  "  con 
tribute  to  the  funds  of  the  society,  according  to  the  full 
measure  of  their  ability  /  "  that  is,  as  the  practice  under 
those  rules  showed  who  did  not  make  the  society  their 


HISTOEICAL    REVIEW   OF   THE    CHTJECH.  77 

exclusive  agent  in  Home  Missionary  work.  All  the 
churches  of  one  presbytery  were  excluded  because  one 
prominent  church  in  that  presbytery  gave  its  collections 
to  a  feeble  church  at  its  side ;  and  those  of  another,  be 
cause  the  presbytery,  as  such,  employed  a  considerable 
portion  of  its  contributions,  as  it  had  always  done,  in 
sustaining  its  own  itinerant  missionary.  Congregational 
bodies,  it  is  true,  took  the  same  liberties.  But  then, 
as  they  were  only  voluntary  associations,  individual 
churches  were  not  held  responsible  for  their  action. 
The  adoption  of  this  policy,  as  might  naturally  have 
been  expected,  called  forth  loud  remonstrances.  By 
impairing  confidence  in  the  impartiality  of  the  society, 
it  did  no  doubt  divert  funds  from  its  treasury.  It  in 
creased  rapidly  the  work  of  the  Church  Extension 
Committee,  and  made  it  necessary  for  the  Assembly  to 
enlarge  its  functions.  To  aggravate  the  growing  diffi 
culty,  the  society  claimed  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the 
position  of  the  churches,  in  regard  to  the  vexed  ques 
tion  of  slavery,  and  to  determine,  as  a  condition  of  aid, 
whether  or  not  the  decisions  of  the  Assembly  on  that 
subject  were  satisfactorily  carried  into  execution. 

It  was  in  this  posture  of  affairs  that  the  Assembly 
came  together  at  Wilmington,  in  the  year  1857,  and  the 
complaints  were  urgent.  It  was  plain  that  some  decisive 
action  must  be  taken.  The  society,  from  being,  as  it  de 
clared  itself  at  the  beginning,  "  the  servant  of  all,"  was 
becoming,  unconsciously  perhaps,  and  by  the  force  of 
circumstances,  the  master  of  all.  The  Assembly  could 
not  submit  to  the  new  policy  without  sacrificing  its  own 
independence,  and  allowing  an  irresponsible  body,  com- 


78  PEESBYTERTAlSr 

posed  of  different  denominations,  to  interfere,  botli  with 
its  policy  and  its  ecclesiastical  discipline. 

That  it  might  not  act  without  a  full  understanding 
of  the  case,  a  commission  was  raised  with  directions  to 
ascertain,  by  a  thorough  investigation,  the  facts  in  the 
case,  and  to  procure  Such  other  information  as  may  be 
in  their  power,  relating  to  the  history  of  our  connec 
tion  with  the  work  of  Home  Missions,  and  our  present 
relations  to  it ;  also,  to  learn  the  principles  and  modes 
of  administration  of  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society  over  the  entire  field  of  its  operations,  and  to 
submit  the  whole,  well  authenticated,  to  the  next  Gen 
eral  Assembly. 

In  pursuance  of  the  object  of  their  appointment,  the 
commission  during  the  year,  made  a  thorough  examina 
tion  of  the  historical  documents,  compiled  from  the 
publications  of  the  society  a  careful  estimate  of  contri 
butions  and  benefactions,  instituted  an  extensive  corre 
spondence,  conferred  in  writing  with  the  executive  com 
mittee  of  the  society,  and  prepared  an  extended  report 
which  they  presented  to  the  General  Assembly  con 
vened  at  Pittsburg,  in  1860. 

It  was  now  clear  that  a  separation  must  take  place. 
The  Assembly  came  reluctantly  to  the  conclusion.  The 
churches  had  been  warmly  attached  to  the  society.  In 
the  whole  system  of  voluntary  societies,  there  were  none 
which  they  regarded  as  so  emphatically  their  own.  It 
was  founded  chiefly  by  Presbyterians,  and  sustained  by 
them  several  years  before  their  Congregational  brethren 
came  into  it.  They  had  important  interests,  moral  and 
pecuniary,  involved  in  it.  And  if  part  they  must,  they 
desired  earnestly  to  part  amicably  and  with  a  fair  ad- 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OP   THE    CHURCH.  79 

justment  of  all  mutual  claims.  To  accomplish,  if  possi 
ble,  this  object,  the  Assembly  made  one  more  effort  at 
conference ;  and,  since  the  society  held  no  meetings,  ex 
cept  once  a  year,  and  those  but  formal  ones  and  with  out 
an  adequate  representation,  it  resorted  to  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  committee,  with  instructions  to  invite  the  ap 
pointment  of  corresponding  committees  by  the  associa 
tions  with  which  the  Assembly  was  in  correspondence,  to 
confer  with  reference  to  the  adjustment  of  their  and  our 
mutual  relations  with  the  society,  and,  if  a  separation 
should  be  found  necessary,  to  agree  upon  equitable 
terms.  This  proposition  was  declined.  Most  of  the 
associations  declared  their  approval  of  the  offensive 
acts  of  the  society  and  saw  no  good  to  be  expected 
from  negotiations. 

The  next  year  the  Assembly  withdrew,  leaving  be 
hind  all  the  interests  of  its  churches  in  an  institution 
which  they  had  done  so  much  to  build  up ;  leaving  also, 
for  the  sole  benefit  of  the  sister  denomination,  all  the 
unexpended  funds  and  legacies,  some  of  which  were 
large,  of  Presbyterian  contributors.  The  committee  of 
conference,  in  accordance  with  the  duty  assigned  them 
by  the  Assembly,  "  to  recommend  to  that  body  such 
plans  and  measures  pertaining  to  the  Home  Missionary 
work,  as  they  may  deem  wise  and  necessary,"  presented 
a  constitution,  carefully  drawn  up,  in  the  adoption  of 
which  the  Assembly  resolved,  that  "the  General  As- 
ssnibly,  in  accordance  with  the  obvious  indications  of 
providence,  and  agreeably  to  the  constitution  of  the 
church  (Form  of  Grov.  xviii.),  assumes  the  responsi 
bility  of  conducting  the  work  of  Home  Missions  within 
its  bounds."  To  this  end,  the  Assembly  hereby  insti- 


80  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

tutes  a  permanent  committee,  to  be  known  as  the  PRES 
BYTERIAN  COMMITTEE  OF  HOME  MISSIONS. 

The  Church  Extension  Committee,  of  which  the  la 
mented  Dr.  Wallace  was  the  indefatigable  secretary, 
discharged  its  difficult  and  responsible  trust,  during  the 
six  years  of  its  continuance,  with  eminent  wisdom  and 
fidelity,  and  with  perfect  good  faith  to  all  parties.  In 
all  that  time  it  never  had  a  divided  vote,  and  to  its 
agency  it  is  largely  due  that  the  church,  in  that  critical 
period,  was  not  only  preserved  from  disintegration,  but 
advanced  in  prosperity  and  usefulness. 

This  was  the  only  serious  collision  which  the  New 
School  ever  had  with  their  Congregational  brethren. 
Some  misunderstandings  threatened  at  one  time  to  dis 
turb  their  relations  with  the  American  Board.  But 
the  prompt  and  fraternal  manner  in  which  the  Board 
met  the  case  in  their  action  at  Newark,  in  1856,  and 
again  at  Philadelphia,  in  1859,  quelled  at  once  the 
rising  discontent ;  and  from  that  time  the  harmonious 
co-operation  of  the  two  parties  in  that  most  beneficent 
institution,  has  continued  unabated  to  this  hour. 

We  have  had  occasion  to  glance  more  than  once  at 
the  question  of  slavery.  The  relations  of  the  New 
School  Church  to  that  subject  demand  a  much  fuller 
consideration  than  the  limits  of  this  chapter  will  allow. 
Probably  no  denomination  of  Christians  in  the  land 
has  devoted  a  larger,  if  so  large  a  portion  of  its  time 
and  strength  to  the  discussion  of  it.  It  finds  a  record 
in  the  minutes  of  almost  every  Assembly,  from  the  or 
ganization  of  the  separate  body  till  the  providence  of 
God,  forcing  on  the  issue,  took  it  out  of  the  range  of  de 
liberation.  In  1846,  nearly  the  whole  time  was  con- 


HISTOKICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  81 

sumed  with  it.  The  roll  was  called,  alternating  be 
tween  the  top  and  the  bottom,  to  give  every  member, 
northern  or  southern,  conservative  or  radical,  a  full  and 
equal  opportunity  to  express  his  opinions.  At  the  close, 
resolutions  were  adopted  by  a  large  majority,  —  92  to 
29,  —  declaring  "  the  system  as  it  exists  in  the  United 
States,  viewed  either  in  the  laws  of  the  several  states 
which  sanction  it,  or  in  its  actual  operation  and  results 
in  society,  an  intrinsically  unrighteous  and  oppressive 
system,  and  opposed  to  the  principles  of  the  law  of 
God,  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  best  interests 
of  humanity."  The  Assembly  of  1849,  in  a  paper  oc 
cupying  four  pages  of  the  minutes,  recites  the  action  of 
former  Assemblies,  and,  while  deprecating  all  harsh  and 
indiscriminate  judgments,  exhorts  all  under  its  care  to 
do  their  utmost,  and  "make  all  necessary  sacrifices  to 
remove  this  foul  blot  on  our  holy  religion,"  and  specifies 
certain  evils  incident  to  the  system,  as  the  buying  and 
selling  of  slaves  by  way  of  traffic,  and  the  separation  of 
families,  as  "  evils  which  should  be  corrected  by  disci 
pline."  The  Assembly  of  1850,  after  another  long  dis 
cussion  running  through  nearly  a  week,  adopted  by  a 
majority  of  87  to  16  the  article  known,  from  the  place 
of  meeting,  as  "  the  Detroit  resolution : "  That  "  the 
holding  of  our  fellow-men  in  the  condition  of  slavery, 
except  in  those  cases  where  it  is  unavoidable  by  the 
laws  of  the  state,  the  obligations  of  guardianship,  or  the 
demands  of  humanity,  is  an  offence  in  the  proper  import 
of  that  term,  as  used  in  the  Book  of  Discipline,  chap, 
i.  sec.  3,  and  should  be  regarded  and  treated  as  other 
offences."  The  Assembly  of  1853  reaffirms  the  Detroit 
resolution,  exhorts  to  "  patience  and  fraternal  confidence 

6 


82  PKESBYTEEIAN    EEUNIOIST. 

towards  brethren  who  are  subject  to  embarrassments 
from  which  we  are  happily  free,"  and  in  order  to  cor 
rect  misapprehensions,  and  allay  irritations  by  a  knowl 
edge  of  the  real  facts,  requests  the  presbyteries  in  the 
slave-holding  states,  to  lay  before  the  next  general  As 
sembly  distinct  statements  respecting  the  number  of 
slaves  and  slave-holders  in  the  churches,  how  far  they 
are  included  in  the  excepted  cases  of  the  Detroit  reso 
lution,  and  what  regard  is  paid  to  the  parental  and  con 
jugal  relations  and  the  religious  needs,  privileges,  and 
well-being  of  the  enslaved.  To  this  request  there  were 
urgent  protests  :  it  was  pronounced  unconstitutional  and 
offensive,  and  was  never  complied  with.  In  1856,  both 
the  Assemblies  met  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  were 
numerously  attended.  The  question  came  up  on  the 
report  of  a  committee  on  the  constitutional  powers  of 
the  General  Assembly.  It  was  ably  debated ;  and  the 
southern  brethren  by  general  consent  occupied  a  large 
proportion  of  the  time.  They  put  a  special  construction 
of  their  own  on  the  Detroit  resolution,  frankly  acknowl 
edged  that  the  views  of  the  South,  their  own  among  the 
rest,  had  materially  changed  in  regard  to  the  alleged 
evil  of  slavery,  and  did  not  hesitate  openly  to  avow  that 
they  now  accepted  the  system  of  slavery.  The  report  of 
the  committee,  which  was  a  guarded  one,  and  carefully 
limited  the  constitutional  powers  of  the  Assembly,  was 
adopted,  and  the  report  of  the  minority,  a  document 
covering  eight  pages,  contrary  to  the  custom,  was,  at 
the  request  of  the  southern  members,  printed  side  by 
side  with  it  in  the  minutes. 

The  Assembly  of  1857  found  itself  in  a  new  posture 
of  affairs.     Developments  had  been  made  during  the 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE   CIIUECH.  83 

year,  wMcli  seemed  to  call  for  the  most  explicit  declar 
ations.  The  Presbytery  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  gave  official 
notice,  that  a  number  of  its  ministers  and  ruling  elders 
held  slaves  from  principle  and  of  choice,  believing  it  to 
be,  according  to  the  J3ible,  right  •  and  that  they,  with 
out  qualification,  assumed  the  responsibility  of  sustain 
ing  them  in  so  doing."  This  position,  the  Assembly 
felt  itself  called  upon  pointedly  to  condemn,  and  while 
still  expressing  "  a  tender  sympathy  for  those  who  de 
plore  the  evil  and  are  honestly  doing  all  in  their  power 
for  the  present  well-being  of  their  slaves,  and  for  their 
complete  emancipation,  declared  emphatically,  "Such 
doctrines  and  practices  cannot  permanently  le  tolerated 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church" 

The  question  had  now  reached  its  final  issue.  The 
Assembly,  planting  itself  upon  the  well-defined  princi 
ples  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  from  the  beginning 
hitherto,  had  only  to  abide  the  result.  The  southern  sy 
nods,  determined  to  stand  or  fall  by  the  new  doctrines, 
immediately  withdrew  from  the  body,  and  formed  them 
selves  into  a  separate  body  called  the  UNITED  SYNOD 
OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

In  all  this  procedure,  two  things  mark  the  conduct 
of  the  Assembly ;  viz.,  a  firm  and  explicit  condemnation 
of  the  Avhole  system  of  slavery,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
a  considerate  and  charitable  regard  for  the  circum 
stances  of  those  connected  with  it,  on  the  other.  Its 
action  was,  all  the  way,  decisive  and  yet  conservative, 
resolute  to  destroy  the  tares,  yet  tenderly  careful  not  to 
root  up  the  wheat  with  them. 

The  New  School  Presbyterian  Church  had  now  gone 
through  its  last  conflict,  and,  deeply  as  it  regretted  the 


84  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

loss  of  so  many  valued  brethren,  perceiving  that  there 
was  no  alternative,  acquiesced  cheerfully,  and  felt  itself 
only  the  stronger  for  its  diminished  numbers.  The  ter 
rible  struggle  through  which  the  country  was  about  to 
pass,  and  by  which  other  bodies  were  so  sorely  agitated, 
found  them  a  unit.  Their  views  in  respect  to  it,  were 
outspoken  and  unanimous ;  their  position  was  unambig 
uous  and  well  understood ;  and  it  is  no  disparagement 
to  any  others,  to  say  that,  in  respect  to  loyalty  to  the 
government,  and  readiness  to  make  any  sacrifices  for 
the  salvation  of  the  country  in  the  time  of  need,  none 
were  more  prompt  and  earnest,  whether  in  the  Assem 
bly  or  the  pulpit,  in  the  social  circle  or  on  the  field  of 
battle.  All  their  church  judicatories  spoke  one  voice, 
and  all  their  pulpits  rang  out  clear  and  strong,  the  obli 
gations  and  incitements  of  CHRISTIAN  PATRIOTISM. 

On  this  point,  the  General  Assembly  led  the  way,  and 
set  the  example.  At  the  meeting  in  Syracuse,  in  1861, 
just  after  the  commencement  of  the  war,  "the  absorb 
ing  topic  that  is  pressing  upon  the  heart  of  the  whole 
country,"  says  the  Presbyterian  Quarterly  Review,  "  it 
now  appeared  was  the  first  to  occupy  the  Assembly." 
Meetings  for  prayer,  and  discussion  on  the  state  of  the 
country,  were  held  on  three  successive  evenings,  and 
"  the  deepest  enthusiasm  was  manifested."  A  carefully 
prepared  paper  was  adopted,  in  which,  after  stating  the 
main  facts  of  the  rebellion,  and  citing  the  patriotic 
words  of  the  old  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadel 
phia,  at  the  opening  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  in 
1775,  the  Assembly  declared:  "We  should  be  recreant 
to  our  high  trust,  were  we  to  withhold  an  earnest  pro 
test  against  all  such  unlawful  and  treasonable  acts : " 
and,  in  pursuance  of  this  declaration,  - 


HISTOEICAL    REVIEW    OF    THE    CHUECH.  85 

"Resolved,  3.  That  inasmuch  as  we  believe,  according 
to  our  Form  of  Government,  that  God,  the  Supreme 
Judge  and  King  of  all  the  world,  has  ordained  civil 
magistrates  to  be  under  him,  over  the  people,  for  his 
own  glory  and  the  public  good,  and  to  this  end  hath 
armed  them  with  the  power  of  the  sword  for  the  de 
fence  and  encouragement  of  them  that  are  good,  and 
for  the  punishment  of  evil-doers,  there  is,  in  the  judg 
ment  of  the  Assembly,  no  Hood  or  treasure  too  precious 
to  be  devoted  to  the  defence  and  perpetuity  of  the  gov 
ernment  in  all  its  constitutional  authority" 

The  Assembly  at  Cincinnati,  in  1862,  again  referring 
to  the  same  explicit  words  of  our  Form  of  Government, 
condemning  the  rebellion,  approving  the  war  as  just  and 
necessary,  expressing  great  confidence  in  the  President 
and  his  cabinet,  the  commanders  of  the  army  and  navy, 
the  soldiers,  etc.,  and  recording  the  opinion,  that, 
"This  whole  insurrectionary  movement  can  be  traced 
to  one  primordial  root,  and  one  only — African  slavery 
and  the  love  of  it,  and  the  determination  to  make  it 
perpetual : " 

"Resolved,  7.  That  we  here,  in  deep  humility  for  our 
sins  and  the  sins  of  our  nation,  and  in  heartfelt  devo 
tion,  lay  ourselves,  with  all  we  are  and  have,  on  the 
altar  of  God  and  our  country ;  and  we  hesitate  not  to 
pledge  the  churches  and  all  Christian  people  under  our 
care,  as  ready  to  join  with  us  in  the  same  fervent  sym 
pathies,  and  united  prayers,  that  our  rulers  in  the  cabi 
net,  and  our  commanders  in  the  field  and  on  the  waters, 
and  the  brave  men  under  their  leadership,  may  take  cour 
age  under  the  assurance  that  the  PRESBYTEEIAN  CHUECH 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  are  witli  them  with  heart  and 


86  PKESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

hand,  in  life  and  death,  in  this  fearful  existing  con 
test  !  "  A  copy  of  the  resolutions  was  sent  to  the  Pres 
ident,  accompanied  by  a  letter  expressing  "  in  a  more 
personal  manner,  the  sentiments  of  the  church  in  refer 
ence  to  himself,  and  the  great  issues  with  which  he  was 
called  to  deal."  "Since  the  day  of  your  inauguration," 
they  say,  "  the  thousands  of  our  membership  have  fol 
lowed  you  with  unceasing  prayer,  beseeching  the  throne 
of  grace  in  your  behalf."  "In  our  great  church  courts, 
in  our  lesser  judicatures,  in  our  weekly  assemblages,  in 
the  house  of  God,  at  our  family  altars,  in  the  inner 
place  of  prayer,  you  have  been  the  burden  of  our  peti 
tions."  "  We  give  praise  not  to  man,  but  to  God.  In 
your  firmness,  your  integrity,  challenging  the  admira 
tion  even  of  your  enemies,  your  moderation,  your  wis 
dom,  the  timeliness  of  your  acts  exhibited  at  critical 
junctures,  your  paternal  words,  so  eminently  fitting  the 
chosen  head  of  a  great  people,  we  recognize  the  hand 
and  power  of  God."  Expressing  their  "deep  sympa 
thy  "  with  him  in  his  great  trust,  and  in  the  depth  of 
his  then  recent  personal  bereavement,  pledging  him 
"  all  the  support  that  loyal  hearts  can  offer,"  referring 
to  the  sons  of  the  church,  ministers,  and  others,  who 
had  served,  and  some  of  them  died  in  the  common  cause, 
and  adding,  in  regard  to  the  latter,  "  we  are  glad  that 
we  have  given  them :  we  gladly  pledge  as  many  more 
as  the  cause  of  our  country  may  demand,"  it  concludes 
thus:  "We  believe  there  is  but  one  path  before  this 
people :  this  gigantic  and  inexpressibly  wicked  rebel 
lion  must  be  destroyed ;  the  interests  of  humanity,  the 
temple  of  God  and  his  church,  demand  it  at  our  hands. 
May  God  give  to  you  his  great  support,  preserve  you, 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF    THE    CHURCH.  87 

impart  to  you  more  than  Imman  wisdom,  and  permit 
you  ere  long,  to  rejoice  in  the  deliverance  of  our  be 
loved  country,  in  peace  and  unity." 

To  this  warm-hearted,  as  well  as  patriotic  letter,  the 
President  returned,  through  the  Secretary  of  State,  the 
following  reply :  — 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  June  7,  1861. 

To  tlie  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Cliurcli  of 
tlie  United  States  holding  its  Annual  Session  in  the 
city  of  Cincinnati :  - 

"  REVEREND  GENTLEMEN,  —  I  have  had  the  honor  of 
receiving  your  address  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  proceedings  of  your  venerable  body  on 
the  subject  of  the  existing  insurrection,  by  which  that 
address  was  accompanied. 

"  These  papers  have  been  submitted  to  the  President. 
I  am.  instructed  to  convey  to  you  his  most  profound  and 
grateful  acknowledgements,  for  the  fervent  assurances 
of  support  and  sympathy  which  they  contain.  For 
many  years  hereafter,  one  of  the  greatest  subjects  of 
felicitation  among  good  men  will  be,  the  signal  success 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States  in  preserving 
our  federal  union,  which  is  the  ark  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  on  this  continent,  and  throughout  the  world.  All 
the  events  of  our  generation  which  preceded  this  at 
tempt  at  revolution,  and  all  that  shall  happen  after  it, 
will  be  deemed  unimportant  in  consideration  of  that 
one  indispensable  and  invaluable  achievement.  The  men 
of  our  generation  whose  memory  will  be  the  longest 
and  the  most  honored,  will  be  they  who  thought  the 
most  earnestly,  prayed  the  most  fervently,  hoped  the 


88  PKESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

most  confidently,  fought  the  most  heroically,  and  suf 
fered  the  most  patiently,  in  the  sacred  cause  of  freedom 
and  humanity.  The  record  of  the  action  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Church,  seems  to  the  President  worthy  of  its 
traditions  and  its  aspirations,  as  an  important  branch  of 
the  church  founded  by  the  Saviour  of  men." 

"  Commending  our  yet  distracted  country  to  the  in 
terposition  and  guardian  care  of  the  Ruler  and  Judge 
of  nations,  the  President  will  persevere,  steadily  and 
hopefully,  in  the  great  work  committed  to  his  hands,  re 
lying  upon  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  candor  and  benevolence  of 
all  good  men." 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Reverend  Gentlemen, 
"  Your  very  obedient  servant, 

"WILLIAM  H.  SEWAED." 

The  Assembly  met  in  Philadelphia,  1863,  at  a  perilous 
crisis.  The  national  heart  had  been  wrung  to  the  core 
by  the  defeats  of  the  previous  summer.  The  conscrip 
tion  was  in  process  of  enforcement,  and  treason  and 
semi-treason  were  bold  and  boastful.  The  Assembly 
reaffirmed  all  the  principles  and  declarations  of  previous 
assemblies  on  this  subject,  declared  it  to  be  "the  relig 
ious  duty  of  all  good  citizens  promptly  and  cheerfully 
to  sustain  the  government  by  every  means  in  their 
power,  and  stand  by  it  in  its  peril;"  that  "loyalty, 
unreserved  and  unconditional,  to  the  constitutionally 
elected  government  of  the  United  States,  not  as  the 
transient  passion  of  the  hour-,  but  as  the  intelligent  and 
permanent  state  of  the  public  conscience,  is  not  only  a 
sacred  Christian  obligation,  but  indispensible,  if  we 


HISTORICAL    KEVTEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  89 

would  save  the  nation;"  that  "the  Proclamation  of 
Emancipation,  issued  by  the  President,"  is  to  be  recog 
nized  "with  devout  gratitude,"  as  a  fruit  of  the  "won 
der-working  power  of  God:"  and  exhorted  all  the 
churches  and  ministers,  "  to  stand  by  their  country,  to 
pray  for  it,  to  discountenance  all  forms  of  complicity 
with  treason  —  having  on  this  subject  one  heart  and 
one  mind;  waiting  hopefully  on  providence;  patient 
amid  delays;  undaunted  by  reverses;  persistent  and 
untiring  in  effort,  until,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  the 
glorious  motto,  One  Country  and  Constitution,  and  one 
Destiny,  shall  be  enthroned  as  the  sublime  fact  of  the 
present,  and  the  sublime  harbinger  of  the  future."  A 
copy  of  the  whole  paper  was  transmitted  to  the  Presi 
dent,  and  appointed  to  be  read  in  all  our  pulpits. 

The  utterances  of  the  Assembly  of  1864  were  of  the 
same  tenor,  reaffirming  the  previous  action,  recognizing 
the  good  hand  of  God  in  the  disappointments  and  de 
lays  of  the  war,  exhorting  to  renewed  zeal,  and  urging 
all  Christians  to  refrain  from  weakening  the  adminis 
tration  by  "  ill-timed  complaints,"  "  and  from  all  speech 
and  action  which  tend  to  difference." 

When  the  Assembly  of  1867  met  in  Brooklyn,  the 
rebellion  was  conquered;  but  the  final  stroke  which 
struck  down  the  beloved  and  honored  chief  of  the  na 
tion  had  filled  all  loyal  hearts  with  the  profoundest 
horror.  The  Assembly  recognized  with  joy  and  thank 
fulness,  the  divine  goodness  in  the  happy  termination 
of  the  war,  and  added  its  emphatic  declaration,  "  that 
in  our  opinion  a  nation  like  ours,  whose  corner-stone  is 
equal  rights,  cannot  permanently  prosper,  nor  be  ex 
empt  from  future  convulsions  unless  the  principles  of 


90  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUJNTION. 

civil  and  religious  liberty  are  firmly  carried  out  and 
fully  applied,  with  only  just  and  healthful  limitations, 
without  reference  to  class  or  color,  to  all  the  people. 
Neither  the  law  nor  the  Gospel,  when  rightly  under 
stood,  will  allow  us  to  exclude  from  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  free  men,  those  who  are  citizens  like  our 
selves,  many  of  whom  have  imperilled  their  lives  in 
this  conflict." 

The  tribute  of  this  Assembly  to  the  excellences  of  the 
martyred  President,  will  form  a  fitting  conclusion  of 
what  we  have  here  to  say  on  this  subject :  "  In  his  life, 
he  struck  the  chains  from  the  trembling  limbs  of  mil 
lions,  vindicated  the  rights  of  humanity,  and  illustrated 
the  glory  of  a  patriotism  made  strong  by  devout  confi 
dence  in  God;  in  his  death,  he  touched  the  cords  of 
sympathy  in  the  heart  of  universal  man,  and  won  over 
to  our  holy  cause,  every  true  lover  of  his  race,  every 
soul  in  which  dwells  the  hope  of  freedom." 

The  unanimity  which  pervaded  every  Assembly  dur 
ing  all  this  period  was  very  remarkable,  and  illustrates 
in  an  eminent  decree,  the  wisdom  of  that  freedom  of 

O  ' 

discussion,  and  that  frankness  and  firmness  of  testimony 
which,  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  interests  of  the 
country,  and  the  rights,  as  well  as  duties  of  man,  had 
characterized  their  procedure  from  the  beginning. 

We  shall  be  obliged,  for  wrant  of  space,  to  pass  has 
tily  over  the  years  of  steadily  increasing  prosperity 
which  succeeded  these  conflicts.  We  may  say  of  them, 
in  words  borrowed  from  an  earlier  history,  "  Then  had 
the  church  rest,  and  was  edified,  and,  walking  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord  and  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was 
multiplied."  Its  several  departments  of  self -developing 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  91 

and  evangelizing  work  had  now  attained  their  full 
organization,  and  were  in  vigorous  and  hopeful  opera 
tion. 

"The  Presbyterian  Committee  of  Home  Missions" 
was  organized  in  1861,  and  has  been  steadily  increasing 
in  efficiency.  Its  receipts,  the  first  year,  were  827,244, 
and  the  number  of  its  missionaries  195.  In  1869,  it 
had  465  missionaries  and  an  income  of  8162,421.  Its 
missionaries  report  70  new  churches  formed  during  the 
year,  2,400  hopeful  conversions,  and  2,191  added  to  the 
churches  on  profession  of  their  faith.  The  freedmen's 
department,  organized  in  1865,  received  and  expended, 
during  the  same  year,  about  816,000,  and  reports  79 
teachers  employed  and  20  others  under  appointment  — 
all  in  the  southern  States. 

"The  Trustees  of  the  Church  Erection  Fund,"  ap 
pointed  in  1854,  were  incorporated  by  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  the  year  following.  The 
original  basis  of  their  operations  was  the  permanent  fund 
of  8100,000,  raised  by  contributions  from  the  churches, 
most  of  it  in  the  year  1854,  the  interest  to  be  employed 
in  promoting  the  object  chiefly  in  the  way  of  loans. 
The  establishment  of  this  fund  operated  as  a  strong 
bond  of  union  in  the  church.  In  the  year  1866,  the 
basis  was  enlarged,  and  an  annual  contribution  ordered, 
and  freer  disbursements.  Since  that  time  this  organiza 
tion  has  been  rapidly  growing  in  importance,  and  now 
stands  in  the  very  first  rank  of  the  evangelizing  agen 
cies  of  the  church.  In  1869,  it  reports  an  increase  of 
854,996,  and  of  churches  aided  about  70. 

The  "Permanent  Committee  on  Education  for  the 
Ministry,"  organized  in  1856,  came  slowly  into  opera- 


92  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

tion,  moulding  its  plans  gradually,  and  embarrassed  by 
the  remains  of  the  old  voluntary  system.  In  1869,  its 
income  amounted  to  $26,569,  and  the  number  of  its 
beneficiaries  to  210 ;  viz.,  63  in  the  theological,  102  in 
the  collegiate,  and  45  in  the  preparatory  department. 

The  Committee  "  on  Doctrinal  Tracts,"  organized  in 
1852,  has  become  the  "Presbyterian  Publication  Com 
mittee."  In  1869,  its  income  from  all  sources  was 
$66,214,  of  which  $6,851  was  expended  in  its  purely 
benevolent  work. 

"  The  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  House  "  located  in 
Philadelphia  and  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania,  hold  for  the  uses  of  the  church  a  valu 
able  property,  purchased  chiefly  by  donations  made  by 
individuals  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  now  estimated 
to  be  worth  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Under  their  charge  has  been  placed  the  Ministerial  Re 
lief  Fund,  managed  by  an  executive  committee,  which 
commenced  its  operations  in  1864.  In  1869,  they  report 
$13,465  received  from  ordinary  sources,  and  $8,200  a 
special  donation  towards  a  permanent  fund;  also  29 
disabled  ministers  aided,  33  widows,  and  4  families  of 
orphans.  The  average  age  of  the  ministers  was  76 
years,  and  of  their  ministry  40  years. 

The  Assembly  has  also  a  Permanent  Committee  on 
Foreign  Missions  whose  functions  are  not  the  raising 
and  distributing  of  funds  or  the  conducting  of  missions, 
but  the  supervising  of  our  part  of  the  work  and  report 
ing  the  results  to  the  Assembly.  From  their  report,  in 
1869,  it  appears  that  our  contributions  for  that  year  to 
the  American  Board  were,  in  money,  about  $93,643,  and 
in  laborers,  71 ;  viz.,  52  male  and  19  female  mission- 


HISTORICAL    REVIEW    OF   THE    CHURCH.  93 

aries.  In  1868  the  contributions  were  $110,602 ;  in 
1867,  $110,725. 

The  literary  and  theological  institutions  with  which 
the  New  School  Church  has  been  connected,  are  inde 
pendent  in  their  control  and  management,  though  in 
perfect  harmony  with  it,  for  the  most  part,  in  their 
views  and  aims.  It  was  no  part  of  its  original  policy, 
even  where  it  had  a  controlling  influence,  to  establish 
an  organic  connection. 

Marysville  College,  in  East  Tennessee,  was  founded 
in  1819.  It  had  a  theological  department,  and,  of  its 
graduates,  120  have  found  their  way  into  the  ministry. 
Its  work  was  suspended  during  the  war,  but  resumed 
in  1866.  Efforts  are  now  in  progress  for  its  endow 
ment,  towards  which  $65,000  have  been  pledged. 

Of  Hamilton  College,  President  Brown  remarks : 
"  The  relations  of  the  college  to  the  Presbyterian  Church 
are  very  intimate.  It  is  under  no  ecclesiastical  jurisdic 
tion,  and  is  liberal  in  its  general  policy,  but  the  large 
majority  of  its  trustees,  officers,  and  students  are  con 
nected  with  that  church.  It  is  prosperous  and  growing, 
and  during  the  period  of  the  separation  has  graduated 
923  pupils,  and  added  $300,000  to  its  property."  That 
eminent  benefactor  of  the  church,  John  C.  Baldwin, 
recently  deceased,  has  made  the  college  one  of  four, 
his  residuary  legatees. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  where  the  New 
School  at  the  time  of  the  disruption  found  its  chief  field 
of  labor  and  promise,  there  is  a  cluster  of  colleges,  some 
of  which  were  then  in  their  infancy,  and  others  sprang 
into  being  soon  after,  -  -  Western  Reserve,  Marietta, 
Illinois,  Wabash,  Knox,  and  Beloit.  They  were  founded, 


94  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

for  the  most  part,  by  Presbyterians,  and  sustained 
largely  by  New  England  liberality.  In  these,  Presby 
terians  and  Congregationalists  have  a  joint  interest, 
though  some  have  come  to  lean  chiefly  to  the  one  de 
nomination,  and  some  to  the  other.  In  a  most  critical 
period  of  their  history,  they  were  sustained,  if  not  saved 
from  utter  extinction,  by  the  timely  aid  of  that  unpre 
tending,  but  most  useful,  organization,  "  The  Society  for 
promoting  Collegiate  and  Theological  Education  at  the 
West."  Its  indefatigable  secretary,  the  Rev.  Theron 
Baldwin,  D.D.,  a  man  as  noble,  energetic,  and  far-seeing 
as  he  was  unassuming  and  modest,  —  a  Presbyterian  at 
the  beginning,  a  Congregationalist  afterwards,  a  sectar 
ian  never,  —  was  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
the  life  and  soul  of  the  institution ;  and  the  cause  of 
Christian  learning  in  our  land  (especially  at  the  West), 
which  now  joins  his  many  personal  friends  in  their  sor 
rows  over  his  new-made  grave,  will  hold  his  stainless 
memory  in  devout  admiration  as  long  as  such  learning 
retains  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  American  Christians. 

Illinois,  Knox,  and  Beloit  are  now  chiefly  Congrega 
tional;  though  they  have  been  largely  patronized  by 
Presbyterians  and  done  them  much  valuable  service. 

Western  Reserve  was  founded  in  1826,  and  was  re 
garded  with  special  interest  by  the  New  School  Church 
in  its  early  struggles,  for  the  theological  department  at 
tached  to  it.  President  Hitchcock  says  of  the  college, 
in  18C8  :  "Its  number  of  alumni  is  319.  Of  these,  more 
than  one-third  are  ministers  of  the  gospel."  Among 
them  are  not  a  few  Home  and  Foreign  Missionaries. 

Wabash  College  was  founded  in  1832.  "  On  the  23d 
of  November,"  says  President  Tuttle,  "five  ministers 


XTtY.^' 
/P^-     or  tn>:  \ 

IUNIVEBSI^YI 

^^.  4^  jfi  v  f*f*r\f*  *^   • 
HISTORICAL   EEVIEW    OF   THE    CHUKCIL  95 


and  three  laymen  met,  and  counselled,  and  prayed,  and 
resolved  to  go  forward."  "  They  selected  the  spot,  drove 
a  stake  to  mark  it,  and  all  kneeled  down  in  the  snow, 
and  consecrated  the  proposed  enterprise  to  God."  Its 
alumni,  in  1868  were  199.  It  has  seen  hard  times,  but 
is  now  free  from  debt,  has  a  permanent  endowment  of 
$105,000,  a  library  of  10,000  volumes,  and  several  thou 
sands  of  acres  of  wild  lands,  on  which  to  found  golden 
expectations.  This  college  is  another  of'  the  residuary 
legatees  named  in  the  will  of  the  late  Mr.  John  C. 
Baldwin. 

Marietta  College  graduated  its  first  class  in  1838. 
The  history  of  its  struggles  and  triumphs  is  much  like 
that  of  the  other  two.  Its  graduates  number  298,  of 
whom  115  are  devoted  to  the  ministry.  During  twenty- 
five  years,  the  West  has  raised  for  its  use  $150,000. 
Its  property  now  amounts  to  $180,000. 

Lake  Forest  has  as  yet  no  organized  collegiate  de 
partment,  but  the  Preparatory  department  and  Female 
seminary  are  well  established  and  prosperous ;  and  the 
property  and  funds  may  be  safely  valued  at  from 
$250,000  to  $300,000.  It  is  "  wholly  under  Presbyte 
rian  control."  There  is  also  the  beginning  of  a  college 
enterprise  in  Iowa,  for  which  there  is  a  property  of 
perhaps  $50,000  in  value. 

Of  the  Theological  Seminaries,  Auburn  is  the  oldest. 
It  was  founded  in  1819 ;  it  has  a  professorship  fund  of 
$125,000,  an  education  fund  of  $65,000,  a  small  library 
fund,  and  a  library  of  8,000  volumes.  The  corner-stone 
of  'a  new  library  building  has  just  been  laid,  to  be 
erected  through  the  munificence  of  Hon.  Wm.  E. 
Dodge,  and  Hon.  E.  R.  Morgan.  Its  graduates  number 


96  PKESBYTEKIAN   EEUNION. 

not  far  from.  950,  of  whom  550  were  graduated  since 
1838. 

Lane  Seminary  went  into  full  operation  as  a  theolog 
ical  institution,  in  1832.  The  history  of  its  early 
hopes,  embarrassments,  struggles,  disappointments,  and 
successes,  is  one  of  uncommon  interest.  Some  of  the 
ablest  names  in  the  church  are  to  be  found  in  the  cat 
alogue  of  its  faculty.  The  receipts  in  1869,  were 
827,041.  During  the  separation,  there  has  been  con 
tributed  to  its  funds  about  $120,000.  The  whole 
number  of  its  graduates  is  481. 

Union  Theological  Seminary  is  the  youngest  of  the 
three.  It  was  organized  in  1836,  and  was  incorporated 
by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  March  17, 
1839.  The  design  of  the  founders  as  expressed  in  the 
constitution,  was  "  to  provide  a  Theological  Seminary  in 
the  midst  of  the  greatest  and  most  growing  community, 
which  may  commend  itself  to  all  men  of  moderate 
views  who  desire  to  live  free  from  party  strife,  and  to 
stand  aloof  from  all  extremes  of  doctrine  or  of  prac 
tice."  Every  director  on  entering  upon  his  office,  and 
every  member  of  the  faculty,  triennally,  or  as  often  as 
required  by  the  board,  must  declare  his  approval  of  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  and  the  Presbyterian 
form  of  church  government,  and  promise  to  maintain 
them  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office.  The 
institution  has  been  eminently  prosperous,  its  property 
exceeds  half  a  million,  and  measures  are  already  in  op 
eration  for  securing  for  it  half  a  million  more.  It  has 
a  library  of  great  value,  containing  about  35,000  vol 
umes.  Its  graduates  number  853,  among  whom  are  a 
very  large  proportion  of  Domestic  and  Foreign  Mission- 


HISTOEICAL    EEVIEW    OF   THE    CHUECH.  97 

aries.  The  Seminary  is  not  under  ecclesiastical  control, 
but  is,  in  a  measure,  under  the  supervision  of  the  two 
nearest  synods,  who  appoint  annually  a  committee  to 
attend  the  examinations  and  report. 

The  beginninc;  of  a  Theological  School  for  the  educa- 

O  o  o 

tion  of  ministers  for  the  GERMANS,  in  which  instruction 
is  to  be  given  both  in  German  and  English,  has  been 
made,  during  the  past  year,  at  Newark,  N.J.,  with  en 
couraging  success. 

The  periodical  literature  of  the  New  School  church 
deserves  honorable  mention.  Besides  other  local 
papers,  the  American  Presbyterian,  at  Philadelphia, 
has  shown  a  warm  zeal  for  its  interests,  and  the  New 
York  Evangelist  has  done  it  excellent  service.  Much 
credit  is  due  to  the  Presbytery  Reporter,  a  monthly  pub 
lished  at  Alton,  111.,  now  in  its  eighth  volume,  for  the 
ability  and  faithfulness  with  which  it  has  watched  over 
the  interests  of  the  church  in  the  North-west.  During 
the  ten  critical  years,  from  1852  to  1862,  the  PEESBYTE- 
EIAN  QUAETEELY  REVIEW,  ably  conducted  by  an  associ 
ation  of  ministers  in  Philadelphia,  defended  its  cause  and 
was  an  honor  to  its  Christian  intelligence.  The  AMERI 
CAN  THEOLOGICAL  REVIEW,  founded  in  1859,  on  a  basis 
not  distinctly  denominational,  and  united  with  the  Pres 
byterian  Review  in  1863,  combining  the  names  and 
objects  of  both,  has,  under  the  charge  of  Prof.  H.  B. 
Smith,  its  editor  from  the  beginning,  assumed  and  se 
cured  a  place  second  to  none  in  the  land. 

The  general  statistical  results  of  the  thirty  years  of 
the  separate  existence  of  the  church,  will  be  given  in 
the  appendix,  by  a  more  accurate  and  practised  hand. 
It  need  only  be  said  here,  that  with  some  vicissitudes, 


98  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

the  body  lias  made  steady  progress  both  in  strength 
and  numbers.  The  sifting  process  referred  to  in  the 
early  period,  and  the  retirement  from  it  of  the  southern 
synods  in  1857,  greatly  reduced  its  numbers,  but  they 
were  soon  replenished;  and  whereas,  in  1843,  there 
were  but  94  Presbyteries,  1,263  ministers,  and  1,496 
churches,  in  1869,  there  were  113  Presbyteries,  1,848 
ministers,  and  1,631  churches.  It  would  be  instructive 
could  we  trace  its  fortunes  in  its  local  developments, 
in  cities  and  towns  and  in  the  new  territories  of  an  ad 
vancing  country.  In  some  places  the  progress  has 
been  cheering,  in  others  slow  and  embarrassed.  For 
example,  in  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis,  neither  branch  of 
the  church  has  gained  much  during  the  whole  period, 
owing  partly,  it  is  believed,  to  mutual  jealousies.  In 
Chicago,  since  the  year  1842,  the  advance  has  been 
rapid.  Whereas,  then,  there  was  but  one  church,  and 
that  in  an  uncertain  condition,  now  there  are  in  the 
city,  or  closely  connected  with  it,  fifteen,  and  they 
are  all  flourishing.  In  Missouri,  under  the  energetic 
influence  of  Dr.  Artemas  Bullard  and  his  associates,  the 
growth  was  rapid  till  about  1856 ;  then,  owing  to  the 
growing  influence  of  slavery,  the  decline  was  constant 
till  the  war  began  and  everything  was  thrown  into 
confusion.  Since  the  war,  New  School  men  have  met  a 
hearty  welcome  in  the  regenerated  State,  and  now  it 
shows  a  larger  roll  of  ministers,  churches,  and  members 
than  ever  before.  Somewhat  similar  has  been  the  case 
of  East  Tennessee,  where  we  have  now  38  churches  and 
.an  encouraging  opening  for  the  future.  In  Kansas,  not 
much  was  accomplished  till  1838,  when  a  band  of  eight 
young  men  from  one  class  in  Union  Seminary,  entered 


mSTOBICAL    KEVIEW    OF    THE    CHUECH.  99 

the  State,  and  the  success  was  signal.  In  October  of 
that  year,  ten  young  men  were  ordained  at  the  same 
meeting  of  presbytery,  and  now  we  have  a  Synod  of 
Kansas  with  three  presbyteries,  thirty-one  ministers, 
and  forty-one  churches ;  and  the  work  of  exploration, 
organization,  and  church  erection  is  going  rapidly  for 
ward. 

The  position  of  the  New  School  Church  towards 
the  Reunion  requires  but  a  word  here,  as  that  will  be 
the  subject  of  another  chapter.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
position  has  been  throughout  frank,  cordial,  and  re 
markably  unanimous.  The  ill  success  of  their  early 
efforts  seemed  to  forbid  their  again  taking  the  initia 
tive  ;  and,  on  strictly  denominational  grounds,  they  had 
no  desire  to  contract  new  relations.  After  many  dis 
couragements  and  long  struggles  they  had  won  a  place 
arnono;  the  branches  of  the  church  of  Christ,  in  their 

O  ' 

own  esteem  inferior  to  none.  Their  organization  for 
church  work  was  completed,  and  seemed,  from  experi 
ence,  to  have  some  special  advantages.  They  understood 
each  other  perfectly,  and  were  happy  with  each  other. 
They  loved  their  own  church,  and  the  name  NEW 
SCHOOL  had  come  to  have  very  pleasant  and  inspiring 
associations.  They  shrunk  from  breaking  up  old  ties 
and  forming  new  ones,  which  might,  for  aught  they 
knew,  lead  to  new  complications.  But  they  looked  to 
the  common  interest  of  the  Presbyterian  cause  and 
especially  of  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  had  no  hesitation. 
It  may  be  confidently  affirmed  that,  among  all  the  par 
ties  now  brought  together  in  the  happy  union  of  which 
this  volume  is  a  memorial,  none  worked  harder  or 
prayed  more  fervently,  or  were  more  willing  to  make 


100  PEESBYTEEIAN   KEUNION. 

every  reasonable  sacrifice,  to  bring  about  the  blessed 
consummation. 

As  to  the  BASIS  on  which  the  Reunion  stands,  the 
members  of  the  now  historical  New  School  Church  have 
nothing  more  to  desire.  "  The  standards  pure  and  sim 
ple  "  have  ever  been  their  preferred  standards.  When 
they  stood  alone,  in  the  days  when  suspicion  was 
thrown  by  some  upon  their  orthodoxy,  their  General 
Assembly,  again  and  again,  enjoined  upon  their  churches 
"  the  faithful  use  of  the  Westminster  Catechism,  in  the 
instruction  of  the  young."  If  any  ask  for  a  more  ex 
plicit  exposition  of  the  particular  phase  of  Calvinistic 
doctrine  which  should  be  distinguished  as  "NEW  SCHOOL 
THEOLOGY,"  they  will  find  none  so  likely  to  be  accepted 
as  such,  by  the  larger  number,  as  that  first  drawn  up 
by  Dr.  Baxter  Dickinson,  and  afterwards  formally 
adopted,  under  the  title  of  "  Errors  and  True  Doctrine," 
by  the  convention  at  Auburn,  in  1837,  of  which  Dr. 
James  Richards,  of  Auburn  was  the  President,  and 
nearly  two  hundred  ministers  and  laymen,  the  very 
flower  of  the  New  School  body,  were  the  members. 
But,  in  truth,  there  is  no  such  phase  of  theology,  which 
either  the  body  as  a  whole,  or  its  theological  seminaries 
would  agree  to  distinguish  by  that  name.  They  take 
the  standards  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  just  as  they 
are  —  the  Bible  as  "  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
practice,"  and  the  Confession  of  Faith  "as  containing 
the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures." 
Further  than  that,  they  give,  and  claim  from  others  no 
pledges,  —  they  give  and  take  reasonable  liberty. 

The  task  assigned  to  the  writer  of  this  chapter  is 
now  finished.  It  has  been  a  pleasant  task,  though  a 


mSTOKICAL    EEVEEW    OF   THE    CHUECH.  101 

laborious  and  painstaking  one.  As  lie  has  gone  from 
page  to  page  of  the  annals,  covering  a  period  of  more 
than  thirty  years,  memories  both  sad  and  animating 
have,  in  turn,  taken  possession  of  his  thoughts.  The 
New  School  Presbyterian  Church  need  not  be  ashamed 
of  its  history.  Noble  men  and  noble  deeds  stud  the 
line  of  its  fortunes.  It  has  met  frankly  and  earnestly 
every  question  of  the  day,  as  affecting  the  moral  and 
religious  interests  of  man  and  the  cause  of  Christ,  and 
pronounced  judgments  and  assumed  positions  which  it 
has  no  occasion  to  retract.  It  has  grappled  with  diffi 
culties  before  which  any  but  resolute,  courageous,  and 
believing  men  would  have  succumbed.  It  has  risen 
above  them.  The  conviction  is  deepened,  as  we  exam 
ine  its  records,  that  we  have  here  a  band  of  true,  trusty, 
intelligent,  well-grounded,  liberal  Presbyterian  Chris 
tians,  —  men  who  can  re-examine  and  test,  over  and 
over,  the  foundations  of  their  faith,  and  stand  only  the 
more  strongly  and  squarely  upon  them ;  eminently  cath 
olic  towards  all  Christian  denominations,  eminently  loyal 
to  their  own  chosen  standard.  The  contribution  which 
they  now  bring  to  the  United  Presybterian  Church,  in 
strength,  wisdom,  activity,  and  resources,  is  one  worthy 
of  its  acceptance.  They  will  stand  by  it,  as  they  have 
hitherto  stood  by  their  own  particular  branch  of  it,  in 
the  spirit  of  a  true  self-devotion,  and  a  firm,  courage 
ous  trust  in  the  divine  promises. 


Old  School  is  at  length  finished.  The  seal  is  on  the 
past,  and  the  future,  with  its  responsibilities,  opens 
before  us.  And  now,  forgetting  the  things  that  are  be 
hind,  all  the  grudges,  all  the  alienations  and  rivalries 


102  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

of  the  past,  and  reaching  forth  to  those  things  which 
are  before,  what  have  we,  but  to  press  towards  the 
mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus  ?  The  church  expects  of  us,  —  the  world  with  all 
its  sorrows  and  sins,  well  aware  that  the  true  church  is 
by  its  vocation  the  salt  of  the  earth  and  the  light  of 
the  world,  expects  of  us,  —  more  than  all,  the  Master 
himself  expects,  —  that  we,  thus  favored  in  the  happy 
healing  of  our  long-broken  unity,  should  now  unite  our 
force  in  one  harmonious,  resolute,  persevering  effort  for 
the  salvation  of  our  race  and  the  spread  of  the  benign 
principles  of  our  HOLY  RELIGION. 


CHAPTER  THIRD. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES   (OLD   SCHOOL  BRANCH). 


BY     THE     REV.     WILLIAM     B.     SP 11  AGUE,     D.D.,     L.L.D. 


Prefatory  Note. — Ashbel  Green,  D.D.  LL.D.  — Archibald  Alexander,  D.D. — 
James  W.  Alexander,  D.  D.  —  Joseph  Addison  Alexander,  D.  D.  —  Samuel 
Miller.  D.D.—  Eliphalet  Nott,  D.D.,  LL.D.— William  Neill,  D.D.  —John 
McDowell,  D.D.—  William  McDowell.  D.D.— George  Junkin,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
—  Joseph  Smith,  D.D.  —William  W.  Phillips,  D.D.  —Joseph  H.  Jones, 
D.D.  —  William  M.  Engles,  D.D. —John  N.  Campbell,  D.D. —George 
Potts,  D.D.  —Nicholas  Murray,  D.D.  —John  M.  Krebs,  D.D.  —  Cortlandt 
Van  Rensselaer,  D.D.  — Phineas  D.  Gurley,  D.D. 

PREFATORY  NOTE. 

I  HAVE  been  requested  to  write  sketches  of  Old  School  Presbyterian  min 
isters,  who  have  died  during  the  period  of  the  separation  of  the  church,  suf 
ficient  to  occupy  a  very  limited  portion  of  this  volume.  In  looking  over  the 
list  of  those  who  may  be  considered  representative  ministers,  who  have  died 
within  these  thirty-three  years,  I  am  bound  to  say  that  there  is  double  the  num 
ber  that  I  have  selected,  who  are  just  as  fairly  entitled  to  a  commemorative 
notice,  as  most  of  those  whom  I  have  made  the  subjects  of  it.  As  it  was  im 
possible,  however,  to  include  them  all  within  the  specified  limits,  while  I 
have  taken  care  to  include  none  whom  the  voice  of  the  whole  Church  would 
not  pronounce  worthy  of  being  thus  distinguished,  I  have  made  the  selection 
not  without  some  reference  to  the  comparative  facility  with  which  the  ma 
terial  for  different  sketches  could  be  obtained.  Those  who  do  not  find  in  the 
series,  some  honored  and  beloved  names  which  they  look  for,  may  rest  as 
sured  that  the  omission  has  been  occasioned  by  the  circumstances  I  have 
mentioned,  and  not  by  the  want  of  due  appreciation  of  the  individuals  con 
cerned.— W.  B.  S. 


ASHBEL  GREEN,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

THE  father  of  ASHBEL  GREEN  was  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Green,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Hanover, 
N.J.,  and  his  mother  was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John 

(103) 


104  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

Pierson,  of  Woodbridge,  N.J.,  and  granddaughter  of 
the  first  President  of  Yale  College.  He  (the  son) 
was  born  at  Hanover,  on  the  6th  of  July,  17G2.  At 
a  very  early  age,  under  the  influence  of  his  father's 
loyalty,  he  enlisted  in  defence  of  his  country's  liberties ; 
and  in  one  instance  at  least,  at  the  attack  on  Elizabeth- 
town  Point,  his  life  was  in  imminent  jeopardy.  In 
consequence  of  the  associations  into  which  he  was 
brought,  during  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  he  became 
doubtful  in  respect  to  the  Divine  authority  of  the 
Scriptures;  but  he  determined  not  to  surrender  his 
faith  without  a  diligent  and  impartial  examination. 
The  result  of  such  an  examination  was  a  full  conviction 
that  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God ;  and  that  conviction 
he  followed  out,  shortly  after,  by  entering,  with  great 
strength  of  purpose,  upon  the  religious  life. 

His  aspirations  for  a  collegiate  education  were  early 
manifested,  and  his  preparation  for  college  was  begun 
and  completed  under  the  instruction  of  his  father.  He 
entered  the  junior  class  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in 
the  spring  of  1782,  and  graduated  the  next  year,  the 
Valedictory  Orator  of  his  class,  General  Washington 
being  present  at  the  Commencement. 

He  was  appointed  to  a  tutorship  in  the  college,  im 
mediately  after  his  graduation ;  and,  having  held  that 
office  for  two  years,  was  advanced  to  the  chair  of  Pro 
fessor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy,  in 
which  he  continued  till  1787.  In  connection  with  his 
collegiate  duties,  he  prosecuted  the  study  of  Theology, 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Witherspoon,  then  President 
of  the  college,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Pres 
bytery  of  New  Brunswick,  in  February,  178G.  Shortly 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  105 

after  his  licensure,  lie  was  invited  to  become  the  pastor 
of  the  Independent  Church  in  Charleston,  S.C.,  and  at 
a  little  later  period  received  a  similar  invitation  from 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia.  The 
latter  invitation  he  accepted,  and  was  installed  in  May, 
1787,  as  colleague  pastor  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sproat. 
The  same  year  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Ameri 
can  Philosophical  Society. 

In  1791,  Mr.  Green,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health, 
journeyed  into  New  England  as  far  as  Portsmouth,  N. 
H.,  mingling  in  many  interesting  scenes,  and  forming 
many  valuable  acquaintances.  In  1792,  he  was  honored 
with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  from  the  Uni 
versity  of  Pennsylvania,  when  he  had  been  but  six 
years  a  licensed  preacher;  and  the  same  year  he  was 
elected  Chaplain  to  Congress,  an  office  which  he  held 
during  eight  successive  years.  In  1793,  during  the 
prevalence  of  the  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia,  he  left 
the  city,  with  a  view  to  visit  his  son  in  Princeton,  who, 
he  had  heard,  was  seriously  ill ;  and,  while  he  was  ab 
sent,  his  venerable  colleague  fell  a  victim  to  the  raging 
malady. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  winter,  the  Second  and 
Third  Presbyterian  churches,  of  Philadelphia,  united  in 
securing  the  services  of  the  Rev.  (afterwards  Dr.)  John 
IN".  Abeel,  with  the  understanding  that  the  two  churches 
should  jointly  share  his  labors.  He  was,  accordingly, 
installed  as  colleague  pastor  with  Dr.  Green ;  but, 
though  there  was  perfect  harmony  between  the  two 
pastors,  the  union  did  not  result  favorably,  and  was 
dissolved  in  1795,  when  Dr.  Abeel  removed  to  New 
York 


106  PKESBYTERIAN 

In  1799,  the  Rev.  (afterwards  Dr.)  Jacob  J.  Jane- 
way,  became  associated  with  Dr.  Green  in  the  pastoral 
office,  and  the  relation  continued,  a  source  of  mutual 
comfort  and  blessing,  until  the  removal  of  the  latter  to 
x  another  field.  In  1799,  he  suffered  a  severe  chronic 
rheumatism,  the  effect  of  which  was  great  mental  de 
pression,  unfitting  him,  in  a  measure,  for  his  public 
duties.  In  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  desired  relief,  he 
visited  the  Warm  and  Sweet  Springs  of  Virginia,  and 
in  the  course  of  his  journey,  made  the  acquaintance  of 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  that  part  of  the 
country.  Though  the  journey  proved  physically  salu 
tary,  it  did  not  avail  to  the  restoration  of  his  spirits ; 
and  it  was  nearly  two  years  before  his  faculties  were 
all  in  their  full  operation. 

After  the  burning  of  the  edifice  of  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  in  March  1802,  Dr.  Smith,  the  President 
of  the  college,  was  requested,  by  the  trustees,  to  visit 
South  Carolina,  to  solicit  aid  in  repairing  the  loss  which 
had  been  sustained.  This  he  actually  did;  and  the 
oversight  of  the  college,  meanwhile,  was  committed  to 
Dr.  Green,  who  discharged  the  various  duties,  thus  de 
volved  upon  him,  with  great  fidelity  and  dignity. 

In  1809  was  formed  in  Philadelphia  the  first  Bible 
Society  in  the  United  States.  An  Address  to  the 
public,  setting  forth  the  design  and  importance  of  the 
institution,  was  written  by  Dr.  Green,  and  did  much  to 
prepare  the  way  for  other  institutions  of  a  similar  na 
ture.  Dr.  Green  succeeded  Bishop  White,  as  the  presi 
dent  of  that  society,  and  held  the  office  till  the  close  of 
his  life. 

In  1810,  a  resolution  to  establish  a  Theological  Semi- 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  107 

nary  was  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly,  and  Dr. 
Green  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee  to 
draft  a  constitution ;  and,  in  the  discharge  of  this  duty, 
he  produced  a  document  that  has  had  an  immensely  im 
portant  bearing  on  the  interests  of  the  Church.  When 
the  Board  of  Birectors  for  the  seminary  was  appointed, 
in  1812,  they  elected  Dr.  Green  as  their  president,  and 
this  office  also  he  retained  as  long  as  he  lived,  render 
ing  it  a  channel  of  rich  blessing  to  the  institution. 

In  August,  1812,  he  was  chosen  President  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey ;  and,  having  accepted  the  ap 
pointment,  was  released  from  his  pastoral  charge,  and 
was  introduced  to  his  new  field  of  labor  in  October  fol 
lowing.  The  same  year  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
was  conferred  upon  him,  by  the  University  of  North 
Carolina.  In  1815,  an  extensive  revival  of  religion 
prevailed  in  the  college,  which  resulted  in  the  hopeful 
conversion  of  a  larsre  number  of  the  students.  Dr. 

o 

Green  labored  vigorously  and  earnestly,  in  carrying  for 
ward  this  work ;  and,  after  the  excitement  had  ceased, 
he  made  a  long  and  able  report  of  what  had  been  pass 
ing,  to  the  trustees,  which  was  afterwards  published,  and 
had  a  wide  circulation. 

Dr.  Green  continued  to  occupy  the  presidential  chair 
till  September,  1822,  when  he  thought  proper  to  resign 
his  office.  Though  it  was  chiefly  with  a  view  to  being 
relieved  from  the  burden  of  care  which  had  so  long  op 
pressed  him,  that  he  was  induced  to  take  this  step,  yet 
he  passed  immediately  into  another  field  of  labor,  where 
his  faculties  were  scarcely  less  tasked  than  they  had 
been  in  the  preceding  one.  He  immediately  returned 
to  Philadelphia,  and  became  the  editor  of  the  Christian 


108  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNION. 

Advocate,  a  monthly  periodical,  and  continued  it  till 
1834.  In  this  work  first  appeared  his  Lectures  on  the 
Assembly's  Catechism,  delivered  at  Philadelphia,  botli 
before  he  went  to  Princeton  and  after  his  return ;  and 
they  were  subsequently  published  in  two  duodecimo 
volumes.  For  about  two  years  and  a  half  he  preached 
to  the  African  congregation,  and  was  always  on  the 
alert  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  the  Church  by 
every  means  in  his  power.  During  several  of  his  last 
years  his  faculties  were  perceptibly  waning,  and  most 
of  his  time  was  spent  in  private  devotion.  While  the 
General  Assembly  was  in  session  in  Philadelphia,  in 
1846,  he  unexpectedly  appeared  for  a  few  minutes 
among  them,  and  was  met  with  the  highest  testimonies 
of  respect  and  reverence.  He  died  in  the  midst  of  a 
large  circle  of  friends,  to  whom  he  was  greatly  en 
deared,  on  the  19th  of  May,  1848,  aged  nearly  eighty- 
six  years.  His  remains  were  removed  to  Princeton, 
where  his  monument  is  now  to  be  seen,  amidst  a  cluster 
of  illustrious  names,  such  as  is  hardly  to  be  found  else 
where. 

In  November,  1785,  about  the  time  that  he  entered 
on  his  professorship,  he  was  married  to  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Robert  Stockton,  of  Princeton.  She  died 
in  1807,  leaving  three  children,  —  all  of  them  sons.  In 
October,  1809,  he  was  married  to  Christiana  Anderson, 
the  eldest  daughter  of  Colonel  Alexander  Anderson. 
She  died  in  1814,  after  a  connection  of  a  little  less 
than  four  years  and  a  half.  In  October,  1815,  he  was 
married  (for  the  third  time)  to  a  daughter  of  Major 
John  McCulloch,  of  Philadelphia.  She  died,  after  a 
somewhat  lingering  illness,  in  November,  1817.  His 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  •  109 

three  wives  were  all  ladies  of  excellent  character,  who 
did  honor  to  the  position  which  they  occupied. 

Besides  the  two  volumes  of  Lectures  on  the  Assem 
bly's  Catechism,  already  referred  to,  Dr.  Green  pub 
lished,  in  1822,  an  elaborate  History  of  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  in  connection  with  a  series  of  his  Bacca 
laureate  Discourses.  He  published,  also,  a  History  of 
Presbyterian  Missions,  and  about  twenty  occasional 
Sermons  and  Addresses  in  pamphlet  form. 

Dr.  Green  was  of  about  the  medium  height,  with 
prominent  features,  a  dark,  piercing  eye,  and  an  expres 
sion  of  countenance  highly  intellectual.  His  manners 
were  dignified,  sometimes  approaching  even  to  stern 
ness,  but  he  knew  how  to  unbend  in  free  and  cordial 
intercourse.  His  mind  was  comprehensive,  logical,  and 
highly  cultivated ;  indeed,  he  seemed  at  home  in  almost 
every  accessible  field  of  knowledge.  Though  he  some 
times  appeared  distant,  and  may  have  been  thought  to 
lack  the  genial  element,  it  needed  only  a  change  of 
circumstances  to  show  that  his  heart  was  overflowing 
with  kindness.  As  a  Preacher,  he  was  highly  evangeli 
cal,  lucid,  impressive,  while  his  manner  had,  perhaps, 
more  of  the  commanding  than  the  graceful  and  attrac 
tive.  As  the  Head  of  a  college,  he  commanded  the  ut 
most  respect,  while  he  was  always  intent  on  the  moral 
as  well  as  intellectual  improvement  of  those  committed 
to  his  care.  As  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
the  General  Assembly  testified  their  high  sense  of  his 
merits  by  making  him  their  Moderator;  and  it  may 
safely  be  said  that  he  has  left  behind  him  a  bright  and 
enduring  record. 


110  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

ARCHIBALD  ALEXANDER,  D.D. 

ARCHIBALD  ALEXANDER  was  a  son  of  William  Alex 
ander,  a  person  of  great  worth  and  respectability,  and 
was  born  near  Lexington,  Rockbridge  County,  Va.,  on 
the  17th  of  April,  1772.  While  he  was  pursuing  his 
studies  at  Liberty  Hall  Academy  (no\v  Washington 
College),  in  1789,  he  accompanied  his  instructor,  the 
Rev.  William  Graham,  to  Prince  Edward,  to  attend  a 
communion  in  the  Briery  congregation.  This  brought 
him  into  the  midst  of  a  revival  of  religion,  of  which  he 

O  ' 

became,  as  he  believed,  one  of  the  subjects.  He  made  a 
public  profession  of  his  faith  in  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year,  and  shortly  after  commenced  the  study  of  theol 
ogy,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Graham.  He  was 
licensed  to  preach,  by  the  Lexington  Presbytery,  in 
1791,  when  he  was  but  nineteen  years  of  age. 

In  1792,  he  was  occupied  in  missionary  labor  about  six 
months,  partly  in  Virginia  and  partly  in  North  Caro 
lina.  After  having  served  six  different  churches,  in  con 
nection  with  the  Rev.  Drury  Lacy,  for  some  time,  he 
took  charge  of  the  churches  of  Briery  and  Cub  Creek. 
He  was  ordained  at  Briery,  in  November,  1794,  and  was 
dismissed  from  Cub  Creek  in  April,  1797,  and  from 
Briery  in  November,  1798.  In  1796,  he  became  succes 
sor  to  the  Rev.  Drury  Lacy,  as  President  of  Hampden 
Sydney  College.  The  same  year  he  went  as  a  delegate 
to  the  General  Assembly,  at  Philadelphia,  and  such  was 
his  popularity  as  a  preacher,  that  the  Pine  Street  Pres 
byterian  Church,  then  vacant,  invited  him.  to  become 
their  pastor.  About  the  year  1797,  he  came  to  have 
serious  doubts  in  respect  to  the  divine  authority  of  in- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  Ill 

fant  baptism,  and  for  a  year  or  two  discontinued  the 
administration  of  the  ordinance  to  infants;  but  his 
scruples  were  ultimately  removed,  and  he  returned  to 
his  former  practice.  In  1801,  he  was  sent  a  second 
time  to  the  General  Assembly,  and  accepted  the  ap 
pointment  of  delegate  to  the  General  Associations  of 
Connecticut  and  New  Hampshire ;  and,  until  within  a 
few  years,  there  were  those  living  who  heard  him  there, 
and  could  never  forget  his  thrilling  eloquence.  On  his 
return  he  preached  in  Baltimore,  and  afterwards  re 
ceived  a  call  to  settle  there,  as  successor  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Allison,  but  declined  it. 

In  1806,  he  received  a  second  call  from  the  Pine 
Street  Church,  Philadelphia,  which,  chiefly  on  account 
of  his  too  onerous  duties  in  connection  with  the  college, 

O     ' 

he  accepted.  He  was  installed  as  pastor  of  that  church, 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1807.  The 
same  year  he  was  chosen  Moderator  of  the  General  As 
sembly.  In  1810,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  In 
1812,  the  General  Assembly  having  determined  to  estab 
lish  a  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  Dr.  Alexander 
was  chosen  to  the  Professorship  of  Didactic  and  Po 
lemic  Theology.  After  considerable  deliberation,  he  ac 
cepted  the  appointment,  and  was  inaugurated  in  August 
following.  Here  he  continued  in  the  constant  and  labo 
rious  discharge  of  his  duties  till  near  the  close  of  life. 
His  last  illness  was  dysentery,  and  was  of  about  a 
month's  duration.  In  the  prospect  of  his  departure, 
he  was  lifted  above  all  doubt  and  fear,  and  had  the 
fullest  confidence  that  the  change  before  him  would  be 
a  blessed  one.  He  died  on  the  22d  of  October,  1851. 


112  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

The  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  which  was  in  session  at 
Princeton  at  the  time,  attended  his  funeral  on  the  24th, 
and  a  sermon  was  preached  on  the  occasion  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  John  McDowell. 

Dr.  Alexander  was  married  in  April,  1802,  to  Jan- 
etta,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  James  Waddel,  D.D.,  of  the 
county  of  Louisa,  Va.  Mrs.  Alexander  died  in  Sep 
tember,  1852.  They  had  seven  children,  who  survived 
them,  —  six  sons  and  one  daughter.  Of  the  sons,  three 
became  ministers  of  the  gospel,  two  lawyers,  and  one  a 
physician. 

Besides  numerous  Tracts  and  Sermons  in  pamphlet 
form,  Dr.  Alexander  published  the  following :  A  Brief 
Outline  of  the  Evidences  of  the  Christian  Religion, 
1825 ;  The  Canon  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  as 
certained,  or  the  Bible  complete  without  the  Apocrypha 
and  Unwritten  Traditions,  1826 ;  A  Selection  of  Hymns 
adapted  to  the  Devotions  of  the  Closet,  the  Family,  and 
the  Social  Circle,  and  containing  subjects  appropriate 
to  the  monthly  concerts  of  Prayer  for  the  Success  of 
Missions  and  Sunday  Schools,  1831 ;  The  Lives  of  the 
Patriarchs,  published  by  the  American  Sunday-School 
Union,  1835 ;  History  of  Israel;  Biographical  Sketches  of 
the  Founders  and  Principal  Alumni  of  the  Log  College, 
together  with  an  account  of  the  Revivals  of  Religion 
under  their  ministry,  1845 ;  A  History  of  Colonization 
on  the  Western  Coast  of  Africa,  1846 ;  A  History  of  the 
Israelitish  Nation  from  their  Origin  to  their  Dispersion 
at  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans,  1852 ; 
Outlines  of  Moral  Science,  1852. 

The  following  were  issued  by  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Publication :  Practical  Sermons,  to  be  read  in  Faini- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  113 

lies  and  Social  Meetings ;  Letters  to  the  Aged ;  Coun 
sels  of  the  Aged  to  the  Young ;  Universalism  False  and 
Unscriptural ;  A  Brief  Compend  of  Bible  Truth ;  Divine 
Guidance,  or  the  People  of  God  led  in  unknown  Ways ; 
Thoughts  on  Religious  Experience ;  The  Way  of  Salva 
tion  familiarly  explained  in  a  conversation  between  a 
Father  and  his  Children.  He  published  also  an  abridge 
ment  of  the  Life  of  Richard  Baxter,  of  Andrew  Mel 
ville,  and  of  John  Knox. 

Dr.  Alexander  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  re 
markable  men  whose  names  appear  in  the  history  of 
the  American  Church.  There  was  nothing  about  him, 
physically,  that  could  be  considered  especially  attrac 
tive  ;  and  yet  it  was  impossible  to  scan  the  expression 
of  his  countenance,  especially  when  he  was  engaged  in 
animated  conversation,  without  seeing  that  which  be 
tokened  the  workings  of  an  extraordinary  mind.  His 
manners  were  characterized,  first  of  all,  by  perfect  sim 
plicity  ;  he  could  not,  if  he  would,  have  taken  on  airs 
or  made  any  equivocal  demonstrations ;  no  one  could 
resist  the  impression  that  his  heart  was  in  his  utterances 
and  his  actions  alike.  His  mind,  originally  of  the 
highest  order,  had  been  subjected  to  a  most  thorough 
discipline,  so  that  he  had  full  command  of  all  his  admi 
rable  powers ;  and  whether  he  was  called  to  solve  some 
difficult  problem  in  philosophy  or  morals,  or  to  explore 
the  depths  of  some  darkened  and  bewildered  spirit  by 
the  light  of  revelation,  he  always  seemed  ready  for  the 
exigency.  As  a  Preacher,  it  may  safely  be  said  that 
he  held  the  very  highest  rank.  So  thoroughly  conver 
sant  was  he  with  every  part  of  Scripture,  and  such  per 
fect  command  had  he  of  thought  and  language,  that  it 


114  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

was  quite  safe  for  him  to  preach  without  much  pre 
meditation,  and  some  of  his  most  effective  sermons  are 
said  to  have  been  wrought  out  almost  entirely  in  the 
process  of  delivery ;  while  yet  his  ordinary  mode  of 
preaching  was  to  study  his  subject  carefully  before 
hand,  and  trust  to  the  prompting  of  his  feelings  at  the 
moment  for  the  language.  As  a  Writer,  his  leading 
characteristics  were  perspicuity,  naturalness,  and  adap 
tation.  No  matter  how  abstruse  might  be  the  subject 
upon  which  he  was  writing,  his  thoughts  were  always 
direct  and  clear  and  apposite ;  and  he  never  took  a 
step  beyond  the  legitimate  boundary  of  human  knowl 
edge.  As  a  Professor  in  the  theological  seminary,  he 
discharged  every  duty,  not  only  with  signal  ability, 
but  with  great  punctuality  and  fidelity.  His  lectures 
were  generally  written ;  and  they  were  always  luminous, 
and,  to  every  thoughtful  student,  in  a  high  degree  attrac 
tive.  The  part  which  he  bore  in  the  Sunday  afternoon 
conference,  taking  on  the  form  of  a  familiar  talk  on  some 
subject  of  great  practical  interest,  was  always  most  ed 
ifying  ;  and  every  one  who  had  listened  was  sure  to 
carry  away  with  him  thoughts  for  both  his  intellectual 
and  moral  powers  to  digest.  In  his  more  private  inter 
course  with  the  students,  he  was  perfectly  free  and  com 
municative,  always  ready  with  the  most  fitting  word  of 
instruction,  of  counsel,  or,  as  the  case  might  be,  of  ad 
monition.  In  Church  Courts  he  never  spoke  unless  there 
was  manifest  occasion ;  but  when  he  did  speak,  he  never 
failed  to  command  profound  attention,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  the  mists  which  had  been  accumulated  by  a 
long  discussion,  were  all  swept  away  by  a  few  of  his 
direct  and  luminous  remarks.  That  which  formed  the 


BIOGEAPH1CAL    SKETCHES.  115 

glory  of  liis  whole  character  was  his  deep,  simple,  unob 
trusive  piety.  It  was  impossible  to  notice  his  move 
ments  in  any  of  his  relations,  without  perceiving  that 
he  walked  closely  with  God.  The  actings  of  the  prin 
ciple  of  spiritual  life  were  manifest  in  his  whole  deport 
ment  ;  and  those  who  knew  most  of  his  religious  habits 
as  well  as  those  w^ho  only  witnessed  his  daily  conduct, 
could  bear  testimony  that  he  always  seemed  in  com 
munion  with  the  fountain  of  all  grace  and  purity.  His 
death. was  worthy  of  his  life,  —  full  of  peaceful  and 
joyful  anticipation. 

Dr.  Alexander  had  two  sons,  now  passed  away,  who 
were  every  way  worthy  of  their  parentage,  and  who 
are  justly  entitled  to  a  much  more  extended  notice  than 
it  is  possible  here  to  give  them. 

The  first  is  Dr.  JAMES  WADDELL  ALEXANDER.  He 
was  born  in  Louisa  County,  Va.,  on  the  13th  of  March, 
1804.  He  was  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
in  1820,  and  was  appointed  tutor  in  the  same  institu 
tion,  in  1824,  but  vacated  the  place  the  next  year.  He 
became  a  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Prince 
ton,  in  1822,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presby 
tery  of  New  Brunswick,  in  October,  1825.  In  March, 
1826,  he  preached  for  the  first  time  to  the  church  at 
Charlotte  Court-House,  Va.,  and  was  installed  as  its 
pastor,  in  March,  1827.  He  resigned  his  charge  here  at 
the  close  of  1828,  and  accepted  a  call  from  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  was  consti 
tuted  its  pastor  in  February,  1829.  About  the  begin 
ning  of  the  year  1830,  he  became  the  editor  of  the 
Biblical  Repertory.  In  October,  1832,  he  was  dis 
missed  from  the  charge  of  his  church  in  Trenton,  and 


116  PKESBYTEEIAN 

in  January  following  became  editor  of  the  Presby 
terian,  and  continued  to  hold  this  place  until  the  close 
of  the  volume  for  1833.  In  the  course  of  that  year  he 
left  Philadelphia  for  Princeton,  having  accepted  the 
Professorship  of  Rhetoric  and  Belles-Lettres  in  the  Col 
lege  of  New  Jersey.  This  office  he  held  until  1844, 
when  he  became  pastor  of  the  Duane  Street  Presby 
terian  Church  in  New  York.  In  1849  he  resigned  this 
charge,  and  accepted  the  Professorship  of  Ecclesiastical 
History  and  Church  Government,  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Princeton.  Here  he  remained  two  years, 
and  in  1851,  accepted  a  call  to  become  pastor  of  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York,  the 
same  with  which  he  had  been  formerly  connected^in 
Duane  Street,  and  retained  this  place  till  his  death. 
He  died  of  dysentery,  at  the  Red  Sweet  Springs,  Va. 
('whither  he  had  gone  for  the  benefit  of  his  health),  on 
the  31st  of  July,  1859.  His  dying  utterances  left  no 
doubt  that  he  was  in  communion  with  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  E.  C.  Cabell,  of  Virginia, 
and  had  several  children,  one  of  whom,  the  Rev.  Henry 
C.  Alexander,  after  having  had  charge  of  the  same 
church  in  which  his  father  exercised  his  pastorate  at 
Charlotte  Court-House,  has  been  transferred  to  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  Va.,  as  Professor  of  New 
Testament  Greek. 

Dr.  J.  "W.  Alexander  was  a  voluminous  writer.  Be 
sides  numerous  contributions  to  periodicals,  he  pub 
lished  the  American  Mechanic  and  Workingrnan ;  Gift 
to  the  Afflicted ;  Geography  of  the  Bible ;  Thoughts 
on  Family  Worship ;  Consolation,  or  Discourses  to  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  117 

Suffering  Children  of  God ;  Life  of  Archibald  Alexan 
der,  D.D. ;  Plain  Words  to  Young  Communicants ;  and 
upwards  of  thirty  volumes  for  children,  published  by 
the  American  Sunday  School  Union.  Since  his  death, 
there  have  been  published  several  volumes  of  his  Ser 
mons,  together  with  Forty  Years'  Correspondence  with 
Dr.  Hall  of  Trenton. 

Dr.  James  "VV.  Alexander  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
most  gifted  and  accomplished  men  of  his  day.  His 
faculties  were  developed  in  great  harmony,  forming  a 
character  at  once  attractive  and  efficient.  In  the  pulpit 
he  was  regarded  as  a  model  of  simplicity,  while  he  was 
not  less  distinguished  for  original  thought  and  evangel 
ical  earnestness.  A  bold  and  steady  adherent  to  the 
great  truths  of  the  Gospel,  he  could  overlook  minor  dif 
ferences,  and  welcome  in  cordial  Christian  fellowship 
all  in  whom  an  enlarged  charity  could  recognize  the 
Saviour's  image.  In  his  ordinary  intercourse  he  was 
thoughtful  and  generous,  and  on  fitting  occasions  could 
pour  forth  a  torrent  of  good  humor.  His  writings 
show  his  versatile,  polished,  and  richly  endowed  mind, 
as  well  as  the  nobility  and  purity  of  his  spirit ;  and  they 
cannot  but  represent  their  author  most  advantageously 
to  the  coming  generations. 

Dr.  Archibald  Alexander's  third  son,  was  the  Eev. 
Dr.  JOSEPH  ADDISOX  ALEXANDER,  who  has  also  left  a 
splendid  mark  behind  him.  He  was  born  in  Philadel 
phia,  in  1809 ;  developed  early  a  wonderful  power  of 
acquiring  language ;  and  was  graduated  at  the  College 
of  New  Jersey  in  1826,  with  the  highest  honors  of  his 
class.  He  was  elected  tutor  soon  after  his  graduation, 
but  declined  the  appointment,  and  joined  with  another 


118  PEESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

person  in  establishing  the  Princeton  Edgehill  School. 
He  studied  theology  under  the  direction  of  the  pro 
fessors  at  Princeton,  though  he  was  never  matriculated 
as  a  student  of  the  Seminary.  In  July,  1830,  he  was  ap 
pointed  Adjunct  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  and 
Literature  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  He  accepted 
the  appointment,  and  held  the  place  until  the  spring  of 
1833,  when  he  resigned  it,  and  left  for  Europe.  He 
spent  some  time  at  the  Universities  of  Halle  and 
Berlin,  and  returned  to  this  country  in  1834.  While 
in  Europe,  he  was  offered  the  Adjunct  Professorship  of 
Oriental  Languages  and  Literature  in  the  Princeton 

O          O 

Seminary;  and  on  his  return  in  1834,  he  acted  as  as 
sistant  to  Dr.  Hodge,  and  in  May,  1836,  was  elected  to 
the  Professorship  of  Oriental  Literature,  which  he  did 
not  formally  accept  until  May,  1838,  although  he  was 
actually  fulfilling  the  duties  of  the  chair.  In  1836,  he 
was  elected  to  the  same  chair  in  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  New  York,  but  declined  the  appointment. 
In  1851,  he  was  transferred  to  the  chair  of  Biblical  and 
Ecclesiastical  History ;  and,  in  1859,  at  his  own  request, 
the  department  of  Hebraistic  Greek  and  New  Testa 
ment  Literature  was  assigned  to  him.  The  desrree  of 

O  O 

Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him  by  both 
Marshall  College  and  Rutgers  College.  He  died  in 
great  peace  on  the  27th  of  January,  1860. 

Dr.  J.  Addison  Alexander  published  the  following 
works :  Commentary  on  Isaiah,  2  vols. ;  Exegetical  Es 
says  ;  Commentary  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles ;  The 
Psalms  Translated  and  Explained;  and  Commentary 
on  Mark.  Since  his  death,  there  have  been  published, 
under  the  supervision  of  his  brother,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  D. 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  119 

Alexander,  An  unfinished  Commentary  on  Matthew; 
Two  volumes  of  Sermons,  and  Notes  on  New  Testament 
Literature  and  on  Ecclesiastical  History. 

Dr.  J.  Addison  Alexander  was  remarkable,  not  only 
for  his  extraordinary  facility  of  acquiring  language, 
and  the  great  number  of  languages  that  he  thoroughly 
mastered,  but  for  his  wonderful  skill  in  the  use  of  his 
own  language,  whether  in  the  pulpit  or  the  lecture- 
room.  One  of  his  fellow-professors,  than  whom  there 
is  no  more  competent  judge,  has  expressed  the  opinion 
that  he  has  never  met  with  a  man  in  this  country  or  in 
Europe,  who  was  Dr.  Alexander's  superior,  in  respect 
to  the  power  of  his  intellect  or  the  extent  of  his  learn 
ing.  He  was  not  altogether  without  the  eccentricities 
of  genius ;  and  though  there  were  those  with  whom  he 
could  be  communicative  and  playful,  yet  in  other  circles 
he  would  maintain  an  almost  absolute  silence.  He  was 
remarkable  for  his  love  of  little  children,  and  his  efforts 
to  gratify  them ;  but  when  they  had  passed  a  certain 
period,  they  were  obliged  to  give  place  in  his  regards  to 
those  who  came  after  them.  All  who  have  listened  to 
his  impressive  eloquence  in  the  pulpit,  or  to  his  pro 
foundly  critical  teachings  in  the  lecture-room,  think  of 
him  with  admiration. 

SAMUEL  ROLLER,  D.D. 

SAMUEL  MILLEE,  a  son  of  the  Rev.  John  and  Margaret 
(Millington)  Miller,  was  born  at  the  residence  of  his 
parents,  near  Dover,  Del.,  on  the  31st  of  October,  1769. 
After  having  passed  his  early  years  at  home,  and  been 
fitted  for  college  under  the  instruction  of  his  father,  he 

O  ' 

became  a  member  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 


120  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

where  lie  maintained  a  high  rank,  and  graduated  in 
1789.  He  entered  almost  immediately  on  the  study  of 
Theology,  under  the  direction  of  his  father,  and  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Lewes,  in  Octo 
ber,  1791.  After  his  licensure,  he  continued  his  studies, 
under  Dr.  Nisbet,  President  of  Dickinson  College,  and 

'  O     ' 

one  of  the  most  learned  theologians  of  his  day. 

After  declining  an  invitation  to  become  his  father's 
successor  at  Dover,  he  preached  to  great  acceptance  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1792,  re 
ceived  a  unanimous  call  from  the  United  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  that  city,  to  become  a  colleague  of  Dr. 
Rodgers  and  Dr.  McKnight.  Though  the  call  wras  en 
tirely  unexpected,  he  accepted  it,  and  was  ordained  and 
installed  in  June,  1793. 

His  settlement  in  New  York  brought  him  within 
the  immediate  range  of  several  of  the  ablest  and  most 
widely  known  ministers  of  the  day ;  and  yet  his  well- 
balanced  and  highly  cultivated  mind,  his  bland  and  at 
tractive  manner,  and  the  graceful  facility  with  which  he 
moved  about  in  the  different  circles  of  social  life,  soon 
gave  him  a  position  among  the  most  prominent  of  his 
brethren.  He  was  invited  to  preach  on  various  occa 
sions  of  great  public  interest,  and  several  of  these  dis 
courses  were  printed,  and  attracted  much  attention. 
His  sermon  preached  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  became  the  nucleus'  of  a  work,  published  in 
1803,  in  two  volumes,  and  entitled  "A  Brief  Retrospect 
of  the  Eighteenth  Century."  This  work  is  marked  by 
great  ability,  and  has  commanded  much  attention  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

In  1804,  he  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor 


BIOGEAPinCAL    SKETCHES.  121 

of  Divinity  from  the  University  at  which  he  graduated. 
In  1806,  he  was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  In  1811,  Dr.  Rodgers,  who 
had  been  united  with  him  in  the  pastorate  nearly  twenty 
years,  was  removed  by  death ;  and,  two  years  after,  his 
Biography,  written  by  Dr.  Miller,  appeared,  in  an  oc 
tavo  volume,  full  of  interesting  details  of  the  History 
of  the  American  Presbyterian  Church.  In  1813,  he  was 
elected  to  the  chair  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church 
Government  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton. 
This  appointment  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  accept, 
though,  in  doing  so,  he  had  to  abandon  a  field  of  useful 
ness,  which  had  become  endeared  to  him  by  many  sa 
cred  associations. 

Here  Dr.  Miller  continued,  accomplishing  a  work  of 
the  highest  interest  to  the  Church,  during  the  period  of 
thirty-six  years.  Besides  attending  to  his  stated  duties 
in  the  Seminary  with  great  fidelity,  he  performed  a  large 
amount  of  literary  labor,  the  results  of  which  are  now 
in  the  possession  of  the  Church,  and  will  form  a  rich 
legacy  to  posterity. 

After  tendering  the  resignation  of  his  office  to  the 
General  Assembly,  which  was  accepted  with  the  warm 
est  expressions  of  respect  and  gratitude,  in  May,  1849, 
his  health,  which  had  been  waning  for  some  time,  be 
came  more  and  more  feeble,  until  his  ability  for  all 
active  exertion  was  gone.  He  lingered  in  this  condition 
several  weeks,  fully  aware  that  the  time  of  his  departure 
had  nearly  come,  but  in  the  possession  of  a  triumphant 
faith,  that  not  only  cast  out  all  fear,  but  seemed  to 
bring  Heaven  down  to  earth.  He  died  on  the  7th  of 
January,  1850,  and  an  appropriate  commemorative  dis- 


122  PKESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

course  was  preached  at  his  funeral,  by  his  venerable 
colleague,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander. 

Dr.  Miller  was  married,  in  the  autumn  of  1801,  to 
Sarah,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Jonathan  Dickinson  Ser 
geant,  a  distinguished  lawyer  and  member  of  Congress, 
of  Philadelphia.  They  had  ten  children,  but  only  six 
survived  him.  One  of  his  daughters  was  married  to  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Breckinridge,  and  another  to  the  Hon. 
John  F.  Hageman,  of  Princeton.  Of  the  sons,  two  be 
came  ministers  of  the  gospel,  one  a  surgeon  in  the  navy, 
and  one  a  lawyer,  practising  in  Philadelphia. 

Dr.  Miller  was  one  of  the  most  voluminous  writers 
which  our  Presbyterian  Church  has  ever  produced. 
Beside  the  works  already  mentioned,  he  published  more 
than  a  dozen  volumes  on  various  subjects,  and  upwards 
of  forty  pamphlets,  containing  sermons  and  addresses. 
Several  of  his  works  are  controversial,  two  of  them  be 
ing  devoted  to  a  vindication  of  Presbyterianism  against 
the  claims  of  Episcopacy.  His  controversial  writings 
are  clear,  fair,  earnest,  and  marked  by  uncommon  abil 
ity. 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that  Dr.  Miller  pos 
sessed  a  large  measure  of  personal  attraction.  He  was 
of  about  the  middle  size,  and  had  a  face  expressive  at 
once  of  high  intelligence,  and  of  all  that  was  gentle  and 
kindly  and  genial.  There  was  a  sort  of  graceful  for 
mality  about  his  movements,  but  nothing  to  create  re 
serve  or  embarrassment.  His  mind  was  remarkable  for 
the  admirable  proportion  in  which  its  faculties  existed ; 
all  acting  in  perfect  symmetry,  and  therefore  with  great 
power.  His  heart  was  full  of  benevolence  and  generos 
ity,  and  no  one  knew  better  than  he  how  to  render  good 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  123 

for  evil.  His  presence  in  the  social  circle  was  always 
met  with  a  cordial  welcome,  and  always  diffused  an  air 
of  cheerfulness,  while  yet  not  a  word  fell  from  his  lips 
that  was  not  consistent  with  the  dignity  of  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel.  As  a  Preacher,  he  was  justly  regarded 
as  among  the  more  eminent  of  his  day.  His  sermons 
were  written  with  great  care,  and  so  simple  and  logical 
in  their  arrangement  as  easily  to  be  remembered,  while 
yet  they  were  uncommonly  rich  in  evangelical  truth,  and 
were  delivered  with  a  simplicity  and  unction,  well  fitted 
to  impress  them  on  the  mind  and  heart.  As  a  Pastor, 
he  was  always  ready  to  meet  the  needs  of  his  people, 
and  he  moved  about  among  them  so  kindly  and  ten 
derly,  that  they  could  almost  forget  that  he  was  not  a 
father  or  a  brother.  As  a  Professor  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  he  was  always  punctual  in  the  observance  of 
every  duty,  delivered  luminous  and  well-digested  lec 
tures,  treated  the  students  with  marked  attention  and 
respect,  and  was  a  model  in  everything  pertaining  to  so 
cial  manners  and  habits.  As  a  member  of  Ecclesiastical 
Courts,  he  was  watchful,  firm,  and  yet  condescending ;  he 
would  not  tolerate  what  he  believed  to  be  gross  error, 
while  yet  he  would  not  make  a  man  an  offender  for  a 
word.  He  was  strongly  attached  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  regarding  it  as  more  strictly  conformed  to  the 
scriptural  standard  than  any  other ;  but  he  was  ready 
to  open  his  arms  and  his  heart  to  all  whom  he  recog 
nized  as  holding  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  Gospel. 
He  was  an  earnest  and  a  resolute  patriot,  and  possibly, 
at  one  time,  sympathized  more  deeply  in  the  political 
movements  of  the  clay  than  was  most  conducive  to  his 
usefulness  as  a  Christian  minister ;  but,  during  his  latter 


124  PRESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

years,  especially,  liis  patriotism  never  took  on  a  parti 
san  aspect.  His  life  was  a  blessed  testimony  to  the 
power  of  the  truth,  and  a  freewill  offering  to  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  great  interests  of  humanity. 

ELIPHALET  NOTT,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

ELIPHALET  NOTT,  a  son  of  Stephen  and  Deborah 
Nott,  was  born  at  Ashford,  Conn.,  June  25th,  1773. 
His  parents,  who  were  persons  of  great  moral  worth, 
had  previously  lived  in  Saybrook,  but,  in  consequence 
of  the  burning  of  their  house,  their  circumstances 
became  straitened,  and  they  removed  to  Ashford  in 
the  hope  of  improving  them.  Having  one  of  the 
best  of  mothers,  this  son  began  very  early  to  be  in 
structed  in  the  truths  of  religion,  and  at  the  age  of  four 
years  he  had  read  through  the  Bible,  and  committed 
considerable  portions  of  it  to  memory.  His  youthful 
days  he  passed  principally  in  laboring  with  his  father 
on  the  farm ;  but  his  thirst  for  knowledge  was  insatia 
ble,  and,  under  his  mother's  direction,  he  was  constantly 
adding  to  his  acquisitions  from  every  source  within  his 
reach.  He  passed  two  winters  in  his  youth  with  two 
of  his  sisters,  living  in  different  places,  and  spent  a 
short  time  with  his  brother,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Nott,  of 
Franklin.  At  one  time  he  was  strongly  inclined  to  be 
come  a  physician,  and  was  actually  taking  the  incipient 
steps  towards  the  medical  profession;  but  a  severe 
surgical  operation,  at  which  he  was  present,  proved  an 
overmatch  for  his  nervous  system,  and  gave  a  different 
direction  to  his  life. 

After  the  death  of  his  mother,  which  occurred  in  Oc 
tober,  1788,  he  returned  to  Franklin,  the  residence  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  125 

his  brother,  who  had  been  settled  there  a  few  years  in 
the  ministry.  For  two  or  three  years  he  worked  on  his 
brother's  farm  during  the  summer,  and  in  the  winter 
taught  a  district  school,  and  prosecuted  his  studies  un 
der  his  brother's  tuition.  At  sixteen,  he  taught  a  school 
at  Portapaug,  and  was  there  two  successive  winters. 
In  1793,  he  took  charge  of  the  Plainfield  Academy,  at 
the  same  time  pursuing  his  classical  and  mathematical 
studies,  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  Benedict.  On  leaving 
Plainfield,  he  became  a  member  of  Brown  University, 
and  remained  there  for  one  year,  during  which  time  he 
held  the  highest  rank  as  a  scholar ;  but  it  seems,  from 
the  college  catalogue,  that  his  graduation,  which  was 
in  the  year  1795,  was  out  of  the  regular  course.  He 
studied  theology  under  the  direction  of  his  brother, 
about  six  months,  and  was  then  licensed  to  preach,  by 
the  New  London  Association,  and  was  immediately  sent 
on  a  mission  by  the  same  Association,  to  an  almost  des 
olate  region,  —  the  part  of  New  York  bordering  upon 
Otsego  Lake.  On  his  arrival  at  Cherry  Valley,  which 
was,  to  some  extent,  inhabited,  he  was  very  favorably 
impressed  with  the  appearance  of  the  country;  and, 
after  laboring  a  couple  of  months  in  different  places  in 
that  region,  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  return  to 
Cheny  Valley,  in  the  double  capacity  of  a  preacher 
and  a  teacher.  Here  he  established  a  flourishing  acad 
emy,  and  had  the  charge  of  it  as  long  as  he  lived  in  the 
place. 

After  having  remained  two  or  three  years  in  Cheny 
Valley,  he  was  on  a  journey  to  visit  his  friends  in  New 
England,  and  stopped  at  Schenectady  to  pass  the  night. 
One  of  the  ministers  of  the  place,  having  fallen  in  with 


126  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

him,  invited  him  to  conduct  an  evening  religious  ser 
vice  ;  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smith,  President  of  the  college, 
being  present,  was  so  favorably  impressed  by  the  ser 
mon,  that  he  immediately  proposed  Mr.  Nott  as  a  can 
didate  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Albany, 
which  was  then  without  a  pastor.  The  result  was  that 
he  was  invited  to  preach  to  that  church  two  Sabbaths, 
after  which  he  received  a  call,  which,  though  not  en 
tirely  unanimous,  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  accept.  He 
was  installed  on  the  13th  of  October,  1798.  The  church 
of  which  he  now  became  pastor,  was  one  of  great  influ 
ence,  and  his  ministry  attracted  such  men  as  Alexander 
Hamilton,  Aaron  Burr,  Brockholst  Livingston,  and 
others  of  like  reputation. 

When  the  news  of  the  duel  between  Hamilton  and 
Burr  reached  Albany,  Mr.  Nott  was  attending  a  meet 
ing  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Union  College,  Schen- 
ectady.  The  common  council  of  Albany  dispatched  a 
messenger  to  him,  with  a  request  that  he  would  preach 
a  sermon  with  reference  to  the  event  the  next  Sabbath. 
He  complied  with  their  request,  and  preached  the  cele 
brated  sermon  on  duelling,  which  passed  through  sev 
eral  editions,  and  was  reckoned  a  masterpiece  of  pulpit 
eloquence. 

In  1804,  he  was  chosen  to  the  Presidency  of  Union 
College,  Schenectady,  and  held  the  place  during  the 
residue  of  his  life.  In  1805,  he  received  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and, 
in  1828,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Brown 
University.  In  1811,  he  was  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Though  Dr.  Nott  continued  to  hold  the  office  of  Pres- 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  127 

/ 

ident  till  the  close  of  his  life,  he  was  relieved  of  its  ac 
tive  duties  in  1852,  by  the  induction  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Hickok  to  the  offices  of  Professor  and  Vice-President. 
As  he  advanced  in  age  his  strength  of  both  body  and 
mind  gradually  failed,  until  he  was  reduced  to  an  al 
most  infantile  weakness.  The  winter  of  1859-60  he 
spent  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  hope  of  invigorating  his 
health ;  and,  during  that  period,  he  exerted  himself  to 
the  utmost  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  the 
two  parties  into  which  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  di 
vided.  He  gradually  retired,  not  only  from  all  the  activ 
ities  of  life,  but  from  the  society  of  his  friends,  except 
as  he  could  meet  them  in  his  own  dwelling.  His  last 
days  were  days  of  great  physical  suffering,  and  his 
mind  was  sometimes  clouded  with  gloom ;  but  his  con 
fidence  in  his  Redeemer  was  generally  firm  and  unwav 
ering,  and  he  left  a  dying  testimony  to  the  power  and 
excellence  of  that  Gospel  in  which  he  trusted.  He 
passed  gently  to  his  rest  on  the  29th  of  January,  1866. 
An  appropriate  and  impressive  address  was  delivered 
at  his  funeral  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.  Backus. 

Dr.  Nott  was  married  in  July,  1796,  to  Sally  Maria, 
eldest  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Joel  Benedict,  of  Plain- 
field.  She  died  in  March,  1804,  the  mother  of  four 
children.  In  1807,  he  was  married  to  Gertrude  Tib- 
bits,  of  Troy,  who  died  about  1840,  the  mother  of  two 
children.  In  1842,  he  was  married  to  Urania  E.  Shel 
don,  of  Utica,  who  yet  survives. 

Dr.  Nott's  principal  publications  are  Lectures  on 
Temperance  and  Counsels  to  Young  Men,  though  he 
was  the  author  of  several  Occasional  Sermons  and  Ad 
dresses,  which  have  gained  a  wide  circulation. 


128  PKESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

Dr.  Nott  was,  undoubtedly,  one  of  the  most  strongly 
marked  men  of  his  generation.  In  his  person  he  was 
large  and  portly,  and  his  countenance  betokened,  in  a 
high  degree,  both  thoughtfulness  and  intelligence.  His 
mind  was  at  once  philosophical  and  practical:  while 
he  could  penetrate  the  depths,  and  was  at  home  in  the 
regions  of  abstract  science,  he  knew  how  to  make  the 
results  of  his  inquiries  turn  to  good  account  in  the 
every-day  concerns  of  life.  In  his  ordinary  intercourse, 
he  was  bland  and  courteous,  and  yet  no  one  knew  bet 
ter  than  he  how  to  maintain  a  dignified  reserve.  In  the 
pulpit,  he  was  everywhere  recognized  as  a  prince  among 
orators ;  and  though,  during  the  early  part  of  his  minis 
try,  especially,  the  American  pulpit  had  perhaps  the 
brightest  galaxy  it  has  ever  known,  there  was  probably 
no  one  who  held  a  higher  rank  than  himself.  His  im 
pressive  manner  of  utterance  was,  no  doubt,  the  result 
of  great  care  and  study  ;  but  it  seemed  only  the  legiti 
mate  actings  of  a  grand  and  lofty  spirit.  His  style  was 
ornate  and  striking,  and  formed  after  the  finest  of  the 
French  models.  As  the  President  of  a  college,  he  was 
greatly  beloved  and  honored  by  those  under  his  care, 
and  was  generally  admired  for  his  cautious  and  adroit 
management.  As  a  member  of  ecclesiastical  bodies, 
indeed,  in  all  his  intercourse  with  society,  he  studied  the 
things  that  make  for  peace.  He  was  a  noble  specimen 
of  the  divine  workmanship. 

WILLIAM  NEILL,  D.D. 

WILLIAM  NEILL,  a  son  of  William  and  Jane  (Snod- 
grass)  Neill,  was  born  a  few  miles  from  Fort  Pitt  (now 
Pittsburg),  Pa.,  in  the  spring  of  1778  or  1779  :  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  129 

25th  of  April  has  been  fixed  as  the  day  of  his  birth, 
though  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  both  the  year  and  the 
day,  on  account  of  a  deficiency  in  the  record.  Both  his 
parents  were  born  in  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  his  father 
being  of  Irish,  his  mother  of  Scottish,  descent.  In  the 
spring  of  1779  .or  1780,  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to 
a  farm  about  eight  miles  from  their  residence,  and 
there  his  father  and  his  father's  brother  were  most 
barbarously  murdered  by  the  Indians,  and  his  mother 
escaped  in  great  peril,  carrying  him  in  her  arms,  to  a 
block-house  in  the  neighborhood.  On  the  death  of  his 
mother,  which  occurred  about  three  years  afterwards,  he 
was  taken  to  live  in  the  family  of  his  mother's  brother, 
near  Pittsburg,  where  he  passed  his  early  boyhood  in 
circumstances  not  the  most  favorable  to  either  intellec 
tual  or  moral  culture.  Having  led,  for  several  years, 
rather  a  migratory  life,  —  living  first  with  one  of  his 
sisters  and  then  with  another, — he  accepted  a  clerkship, 
in  1795,  in  the  store  of  a  respectable  merchant  in  Can- 
onsburg.  Shortly  after  this,  he  was  the  subject  of  a 
very  threatening  illness,  during  which  he  formed  the 
purpose  of  entering  on  a  new  life,  if  his  health  should 
be  restored;  but,  though  it  was  restored,  his  purpose 
was  not  immediately  carried  out.  Not  long  after  this, 
however,  he  began  to  attend  on  the  ministrations  of  the 
venerable  Dr.  McMillan,  and  through  the  influence  of 
his  preaching  was  brought  to  deep,  serious  reflection. 
While  he  was  in  this  state  of  mind,  and  before  he  had 
any  satisfactory  evidence  of  having  begun  the  Christian 
life,  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to  become  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel;  and  he,  accordingly,  entered  the  academy  at 
Canonsburg,  and  began  his  Latin  grammar,  in  1797. 


130  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

It  was  not  long  before  his  mind  reposed  trustingly  in 
tlie  gracious  provisions  of  the  Gospel,  and  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Charters,  then 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  Dr.  McMillan. 

In  the  autumn  of  1800,  he  left  Canonsburg,  and  be 
came  a  member  of  the  Sophomore  class  in  the  College  of 
New  Jersey.  He  was  graduated  in  September,  1803; 
and  it  was  a  high  testimony  to  his  scholarship  and  gen 
eral  character,  while  a  student  in  college,  that  he  was 
appointed  immediately  to  a  tutorship,  which  office  he 
accepted,  and  held  for  two  years.  With  a  view  to  carry 
out  his  purpose  to  become  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  he 
prosecuted  his  theological  studies,  while  he  was  acting 
as  tutor,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kollock. 
In  October,  1805,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick;  and,  in  compliance 
with  a  request  which  he  had  received  before  his  licen- 
sure,  went  immediately  to  Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  to  preach 
as  a  candidate.  As  his  services  proved  highly  accepta 
ble,  a  call  was  made  out  for  him  in  the  course  of  the 
next  summer,  which  being  accepted,  he  was  ordained 
and  installed  there,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Oneida,  in 
November,  1806.  Here  he  had  a  very  comfortable  and 
useful  ministry.  A  portion  of  his  time  seems  to  have 
been  devoted  to  teaching,  for  Fennimore  Cooper  was,  at 
one  time,  his  pupil. 

In  the  summer  of  1809,  he  received  a  call  from  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Albany,  to  become  the 
successor  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Romeyn  in  the  pastoral  office. 
As  his  salary  at  Cooperstown  was  inadequate  to  the 
support  of  his  family,  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  accept 
the  call;  and,  accordingly,  having  resigned  his  charge, 


BIOGEAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  131 

he  removed  to  Albany,  and  began  his  labors  there  in 
September,  1809.  In  1812,  he  was  honored  with  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Union  College.  The 
same  year  he  became  deeply  interested  in  the  founding 
of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  and  secured 
considerable  funds  in  aid  of  the  enterprise.  He  was 
one  of  the  Directors  of  the  institution  from  its  begin 
ning.  In  1816,  he  was  a  member  of  the  convention 

O  / 

that  formed  the  American  Bible  Society. 

In  the  summer  of  1816,  he  received  an  invitation  to 
become  the  Pastor  of  the  Sixth  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Philadelphia,  —  then  a  new  organization  that  grew  out 
of  a  secession  from  the  Third  Church,  on  the  settlement 
of  Dr.  Ely.  He  accepted  the  call,  and  was  installed  in 
November  following,  though  he  subsequently  doubted 
whether  he  had  been  wise  in  leaving  his  charge  in  Al 
bany.  The  congregation  gradually  increased  under  his 
ministry,  and  considerable  numbers  were  added  to  the 
church,  without  anything,  however,  that  could  be  called 
a  revival  of  religion.  His  ministry  here  was  an  unu 
sually  quiet  one,  but  he  was  the  object  of  universal 
respect. 

In  the  summer  of  1824,  he  was  invited  to  the  Presi 
dency  of  Dickinson  College,  as  the  successor  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  John  M.  Mason.  This  invitation,  after  considerable 
hesitation,  he  accepted,  and  removed  to  Carlisle  in  Sep 
tember,  following.  Here  his  situation,  owing  to  various 
circumstances,  was  far  from  bein^  what  he  desired  or  ex- 

/  O 

pected;  and,  in  July,  1829,  after  having  been  connected 
with  the  institution  nearly  five  years,  he  tendered  the 
resignation  of  his  office.  He  consented,  however,  to  re- 


132  PEESBYTEKIAN    REUNION". 

main  till  after  the  Commencement,  which  took  place  at 
the  close  of  September. 

His  connection  with  the  college  having  now  ceased, 
he  accepted  the  office  of  Corresponding  Secretary  and 
General  Agent  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Education, 
and  engaged  immediately  in  its  duties,  remaining  mean 
while  in  Carlisle.  In  September,  1830,  he  returned  with 
his  family  to  Philadelphia.  In  the  autumn  of  1831,  he 
resigned  his  agency,  without  having  accomplished  much, 
except  in  the  way  of  preparing  for  future  more  vigor 
ous  operations.  Immediately  after  this,  he  removed, 
with  his  family,  to  Germantown,  and,  being  desirous  of 
resuming  the  work  of  the  ministry,  became  a  stated 
supply  to  the  church  in  that  place.  He  removed  from 
Germantown  to  Philadelphia,  in  1842,  and  remained 
without  a  charge  till  his  death,  which  took  place  on 
the  8th  of  August,  1860.  During  this  long  inverval, 
he  was  constantly  engaged  in  doing  good,  though  his 
labors  were  of  a  somewhat  miscellaneous  character. 
Besides  often  supplying  vacant  pulpits  in  the  city,  and 
rendering  assistance  to  his  brethren  when  they  were  in 
need  of  it,  he  was  always  ready,  to  lend  a  helping  hand 
to  any  object  of  Christian  benevolence  that  presented 
itself.  His  faculties  gradually  waned,  but  he  never  lost 
his  interest  in  the  progress  of  truth  and  righteousness. 

In  October,  1805,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth,  daugh 
ter  of  Matthew  Vandyke,  who  lived  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Princeton.  She  died  in  November,  1809,  leaving 
him  with  two  infant  children.  In  February,  1811,  he 
was  married  to  Frances,  second  daughter  of  General 
Joshua  King,  of  Kidgefield,  Conn.  She  died  in  October, 
1832,  the  mother  of  three  children.  In  April,  1835,  he 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  133 

was  married  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  Dr.  Ebenezer  Elmer, 
of  Bridgeton,  N.J.,  who  still  (1870)  survives.  By  the 
last  marriage  there  were  two  children. 

Dr.  Neill's  publications  were  Lectures  on  Biblical 
History,  and  a  Practical  Exposition  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Ephesians,  besides  several  Occasional  Discourses. 
After  his  death  there  was  published  a  volume  of  his 
Sermons,  with  his  Autobiography,  and  a  Commemora 
tive  Discourse  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Jones. 

Dr.  Neill  was  somewhat  above  the  medium  height, 
had  an  intelligent,  thoughtful  expression  of  counten 
ance,  and  was  rather  deliberate  in  his  movements.  His 
mind  was  naturally  well  balanced,  and  his  faculties 
were  developed  in  due  proportion.  He  was  naturally 
quiet  and  gentle  and  unpretending,  though  he  was  al 
ways  firm  to  his  convictions  of  duty.  As  a  Preacher, 
he  was  distinguished  for  method,  sound  logic,  and  a 
highly  evangelical  tone;  and  though  his  manner  was 
far  from  being  generally  impassioned,  yet  he  sometimes 
I'ose  to  a  high  pitch  of  animation.  As  the  President  of  a 
college,  his  success  was  less  strongly  marked ;  but  it  is 
perhaps  safe  to  presume  that  this  was  owing,  in  a  meas 
ure  at  least,  to  the  adverse  influences  with  which  he  had 
to  contend.  As  a  Christian,  his  heart  always  seemed  to 
be  glowing  with  love  to  Christ  and  his  cause;  and, 
wherever  he  has  lived,  he  has  left  behind  him  enduring 
monuments  of  his  beneficent  activity. 

JOHN  MCDOWELL,  D.D. 

JOHN  McDowELL,  a  son  of  Matthew  and  Elizabeth 
t  (Anderson)  McDowell,  was  born  in  Bedminster,  Som 
erset  County,  N.J.,  on  the   10th  of  September,  1780. 


134  PEESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

His  parents  were  exemplary  members  of  the  Presbyte 
rian  Church  at  Lainington,  and  their  children  were  the 
subjects  of  the  most  careful  Christian  nurture.  At  the 
age  of  eleven  years  this  son  became  deeply  concerned 
for  his  immortal  interests,  and,  after  a  protracted  season 
of  anxiety,  was  enabled,  as  he  believed,  to  exercise  a 
living  faith  in  the  Saviour;  though,  for  a  considerable 
time,  he  regarded  the  evidences  of  his  Christian  charac 
ter  as  somewhat  dubious.  At  an  early  period,  he  felt  a 
strong  desire  to  become  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel ;  and, 
having  worked  upon  his  father's  farm  until  he  was 
fifteen  years  old,  he  became  a  member  of  a  classical 
school,  then  recently  established  in  the  neighborhood 
by  the  Rev.  William  Boyd.  Here  he  continued  for 
three  years,  and  in  the  fall  of  1799  entered  the  Junior 
class  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  then  under  the  pres 
idency  of  Dr.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith.  He  graduated 
with  honor  in  September,  1801. 

After  his  graduation,  he  engaged  as  a  teacher  in  Sus 
sex  County  for  six  months,  and  commenced  the  study 
of  theology,  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  H.  W. 
Hunt,  of  Newton,  N.J. ;  though,  in  the  spring  of  1802, 
he  went  to  study,  under  Dr.  Woodhull,  at  Freehold, 
where  he  continued  for  about  two  years.  It  was  not 
till  he  had  been  engaged  in  the  study  of  theology  nearly 
a  year  that  he  made  a  public  profession  of  religion. 
He  joined* Dr.  Woodhull's  church,  in  September,  1802, 
-eleven  years  after  he  first  indulged  the  hope  that 
he  had  been  born  from  above.  Shortly  after  this,  he 
placed  himself  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick,  and,  in  April,  1804,  was  licensed  to  preach 
the  Gospel.  Having  preached  a  few  Sabbaths  in  dif- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  135 

ferent  places,  lie  was  called,  in  July  following,  by  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Elizabethtown,  to  become  their 
Pastor.  This  call  he  accepted,  and  his  ordination  and 
installation  took  place  about  the  close  of  December. 

Mr.  McDowell  now  became  the  minister  of  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  influential  congregations  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  and  his  position 
was  the  more  difficult  from  the  fact  that  certain  as-itat- 

O 

ing  influences  had  previously  existed  there,  which  had 
placed  different  portions  of  the  congregation  in  antago 
nism  with  each  other.  He,  however,  immediately  in 
augurated  a  system  of  measures,  which  were  fitted  to 
heal  existing  difficulties,  as  well  as  to  bring  the  Gospel 
in  contact  with  all  classes  of  persons  around  him. 

In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1806,  he  made  a  journey, 
for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  into  New  England,  of 
which  he  has  recorded  many  interesting  particulars. 
In  August,  1807,  there  commenced  a  revival  of  religion 
under  his  ministiy,  which  not  only  pervaded  his  con 
gregation,  but  spread  into  other  congregations,  and 
lasted  eighteen  months.  In  the  spring  of  1809,  he 
received  a  call  from  the  Collegiate  Dutch  Church,  in 
New  York,  which  he  was  greatly  urged  to  accept,  but 
which,  in  due  time,  he  declined.  Scarcely  was  this  call 
disposed  of  before  he  received  another  from  the  Brick 
(Presbyterian)  Church  in  the  same  city,  but  this  also, 
though,  by  the  urgent  request  of  the  church  that  pre 
sented  it,  it  was  submitted  to  the  Presbytery,  was 
quickly  answered  in  the  negative. 

About  this  time  (September,  1809),  Mr.  McDowell 
preached  his  memorable  sermon  on  Horse-racing.  Being 
aware  that  a  horse-race  was  contemplated  by  some  per- 


136  PRESBYTERIAN    REUOTON. 

sons  from  New  York,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  Elizabethtown,  and  knowing  well  the  evils  by  which 
such  scenes  are  generally  attended,  he  resolved  to  do 
what  he  could  to  avert  the  threatening  calamity.  Hav 
ing  tried  in  vain  to  secure  the  influence  of  the  civil  au 
thorities  against  the  movement,  he  resolved  to  put  forth 
his  own  influence  in  a  more  direct  manner,  and,  accord 
ingly,  wrote  and  preached  a  sermon  on  the  text,  "  Cry 
aloud,  and  spare  not,"  etc.  Several,  who  had  most  to 
do  with  the  races,  were  present,  and,  though  at  first 
they  seemed  to  take  on  an  air  of  defiance,  before  the 
sermon  was  finished  they  were  evidently  smarting  un 
der  its  scathing  rebukes.  The  horse-race  went  forward, 
attended  with  fearful  exhibitions  of  vice  and  crime,  but 
it  terminated  prematurely,  and  no  effort  was  ever  made 
to  repeat  it.  No  event  in  the  whole  ministry  of  this 
excellent  man  showed  more  impressively  than  this  his 
unyielding  fidelity  to  his  own  convictions. 

In  1810,  Mr.  McDowell  was  appointed,  with  his  neigh 
bor,  Dr.  Richards,  of  Newark,  to  represent  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  the  General 
Association  of  New  Hampshire.  They  were  absent 
about  a  month,  and,  during  the  whole  of  that  time, 
found  everything  they  could  desire  to  minister  to  their 
social  enjoyment.  The  meeting  of  the  Association  was 
at  Exeter,  but  they  travelled  as  far  as  Portsmouth, 
and  even  crossed  over  into  Maine,  for  the  sake  of 
setting  their  feet  in  another  department  of  the  Yankee 
dominion. 

In  1812,  when  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton 
was  established,  Mr.  McDowell  was  chosen  one  of  its 
first  Directors;  and  in  1825,  he  was  appointed  one  of  its 


BIOGKAPIUCAL    SKETCHES.  137 

Trustees ;  both,  of  which  offices  lie  held  till  the  close  of 
life.  In  1814,  1815,  and:  1818,  he  took  long  journeys 
in  different  parts  of  the  country,  to  collect  funds  in  aid 
of  the  Theological  Seminary,  and  was  generally  very 
successful.  In  1818,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  and  by  Union  College.  In  1820,  he  was  Mod 
erator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  same  year,  the  church  of  which  he  was 
pastor,  having  reached  a  membership  of  between  six 
and  seven  hundred,  it  was  thought  best  that  a  colony 
from  it  should  be  organized  into  a  second  church ;  and 
of  that  church  the  Rev.  David  Magie  was  chosen  pas 
tor,  who  has,  within  a  few  years,  closed  an  honored  and 
useful  ministry.  In  1822,  he  was  appointed  a  delegate, 
by  the  General  Assembly,  to  the  General  Associations 
of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  and  fulfilled  his  mis 
sion  in  respect  to  both  Associations,  to  great  acceptance. 
In  1824,  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in.  New  York 
gave  him  a  unanimous  call  to  become  their  pastor,  but 
he  declined  it.  In  September  of  the  next  year  the  call, 
was  repeated,  and,  on  being  referred  to  the  Presbytery, 
there  was  a  unanimous  decision  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
remain  at  Elizabethtown.  In  1828,  he  was  appointed, 
by  the  General  Assembly,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical 
History  and  Church  Government  in  the  Western  (Alle 
gheny)  Theological  Seminary ;  but,  after  due  reflection, 
he  became  satisfied  that  it  was  his  duty  to  decline  the 
appointment.  In  1831,  he  was  chosen  to  the  Professor 
ship  of  Church  History  and  Polity  in  the  Union  Theo 
logical  Seminary  in  Virginia,  as  successor  to  Dr.  John 
H.  Kice ;  and  though  he  accepted  the  appointment,  and 


138  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

was  actually  released  from  Ms  pastoral  charge  by  tlie 
Presbytery,  yet  circumstances  subsequently  occurred 
that  rendered  it  undesirable  to  him  to  leave  Elizabeth- 
town,  and,  without  being  formally  installed,  he  was  re 
stored  to  his  pastorate.  In  1832,  he  went  on  a  short 
begging  tour  to  the  South,  in  behalf  of  Princeton  Col 
lege  ;  and  about  the  same  time  declined  a  call  from  the 
church  in  Princeton,  and  also  an  appointment  as  General 
Agent  and  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Missions.  Early  in  1833,  a  proposal  was  made  to  him 
to  come  and  administer  the  communion  to  a  new  church 
in  Philadelphia;  and  shortly  after,  he  received  from 
that  church  a  formal  call;  and  though  his  attach 
ment  to  his  congregation  remained  undiminished,  yet 
partly  on  account  of  his  health,  and  partly  from  some 
adverse  circumstances  which  he  found  it  difficult  to 
control,  he  accepted  the  call,  and  thus  closed  an  event 
ful  ministry  at  Elizabethtown,  of  twenty-eight  years. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Central 
Church,  Philadelphia,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadel 
phia,  on  the  6th  of  June,  1833.  When  the  controversy 
arose  which  issued  in  the  division  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  1837,  though  he  fell  in  with  the  Old  School, 
he  was  far  from  favoring  the  division ;  believing,  as  he 
did,  that  whatever  errors  in  doctrine  or  practice  existed, 
they  could  be  effectually  corrected  without  a  resort  to 
extreme  measures.  His  attachment  to  that  portion  of 
the  Church  with  which  he  identified  himself,  was,  how 
ever,  firm  and  enduring.  He  held  the  office  of  Perma 
nent  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly,  from  1825  till 
1837,  and  the  office  of  Stated  Clerk  from  1836  till 
1840. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  139 

In  1844,  Dr.  McDowell  discovered  that  tlie  pecuniary 
indebtedness  of  his  congregation  was  much  greater  than 
he  had  supposed,  and  was  brought  to  believe  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  resign  his  pastoral  charge.  Accordingly,  by 
his  own  request,  the  Presbytery  dissolved  the  pastoral 
relation,  in  November,  1845,  the  congregation  mean 
while  rendering  the  most  honorable  testimony  to  his 
character  and  services. 

Several  congregations  were  now  ready  to  extend  a 
call  to  him,  but,  instead  of  encouraging  any  such  move 
ment,  he  joined  a  portion  of  the  congregation  to  which  he 
had  ministered,  in  an  effort  to  establish  a  new  church. 
He  commenced  preaching  in  the  old  Fourth  Street 
(Whitefield)  Academy,  where  he  continued  for  a  year. 
An  application  was  made  to  the  Presbytery,  in  January, 
1846,  for  the  organization  of  a  new  church,  and  the  re 
quest  being  granted,  the  church  was  organized  a  few 
days  afterwards,  under  the  name  of  the  Spring-Garden 
Presbyterian  Church.  Dr.  McDowell  was  immediately 
invited  to  become  the  pastor,  and,  having  accepted  the 
call,  was  installed  within  a  few  days.  A  new  place  of 
worship  was  forthwith  erected,  through  the  generous 
contributions  of  friends,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
was  ready  for  occupancy,  in  May,  1847.  In  1851,  in 
consequence  of  an  accumulation  of  snow  on  the  roof  of 
the  church,  the  building  fell  under  the  weight.  The 
disaster  awakened  a  general  sympathy  throughout  the 
city  and  elsewhere,  and  within  about  six  months  it  was 
rebuilt,  re-dedicated,  and  reoccupied. 

In  the  spring  of  1859,  Dr.  McDowell  expressed  to 
his  session,  for  the  second  time,  the  full  conviction  that, 
in  consequence  of  the  increasing  infirmities  of  age,  it 


140  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

was  fitting  that  lie  should  be  relieved  from  the  duties  of 
his  charge.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  Rev.  Morris  C. 
Sutphen  was  settled  as  his  colleague,  in  May,  1860; 
and  the  relation  was  always  mutually  agreeable.  After 
this,  Dr.  McDowell  preached  frequently,  and,  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  summer  of  IS 61,  he  performed 
the  service  regularly  once  almost  every  Sabbath.  He 
died  of  what  seemed  to  be  an  attack  of  bilious  colic,  on 
the  13th  of  February,  1863.  At  his  funeral,  there  was 
every  demonstration  of  the  highest  respect,  and  the 
Churches  and  the  Boards  with  which  he  had  been  con 
nected  passed  resolutions  expressive  of  their  sense  of 
his  extraordinary  worth. 

In  February,  1805,  he  was  married  to  Henrietta, 
daughter  of  Shepard  Kollock,  Esq.,  of  Elizabeth- 
town,  and  sister  of  the  far-famed  Dr.  Kollock,  then 
of  Princeton,  afterwards  of  Savannah.  They  became 
the  parents  of  three  children.  Mrs.  McDowell  died  in 
January,  1867. 

Besides  about  a  dozen  Sermons  in  pamphlet  form, 
Dr.  McDowell  published,  in  1825,  a  System  of  Theol 
ogy,  in  two  vols.  8vo ;  in  1839,  The  Bible-Class  Manual, 
in  two  vols.  12mo ;  and,  in  1816,  A  System  of  Questions 
on  the  Historical  parts  of  Scripture,  afterwards  extended 
to  cover  the  entire  Bible. 

Few  men  have  ever  been  connected  with  the  Ameri 
can  Presbyterian  Church  who  have  rendered  to  it  such 
manifold  and  varied  services  as  Dr.  McDowell.  Though 
he  never  sought  publicity  in  any  other  way  than  by  at 
tending  faithfully  to  the  duties  devolved  upon  him,  the 
number  of  applications  for  his  services  in  important 
places  was  perhaps  unprecedented.  He  was  a  man  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  141 

excellent  common-sense,  without  being  either  highly 
imaginative  or  metaphysical.  He  had  great  executive 
ability,  and  rarely  engaged  in  an  enterprise  that  did  not 
prove  successful.  But  his  crowning  attribute  was  an 
earnest,  devoted  piety,  which  gave  complexion  to  his 
whole  life.  His  preaching  was  in  a  high  degree  evan 
gelical,  practical,  and  experimental ;  and  his  labors  out 
of  the  pulpit  were  eminently  fitted  to  give  effect  to  his 
teachings  in  it.  His  ministry  at  Elizabethtown,  espe 
cially,  was  signalized  by  a  succession  of  revivals  of  re 
ligion  which  scarcely  any  other  church  has  ever  enjoyed. 
It  was  manifest  to  all  who  saw  him,  that  the  great  ob 
ject  for  which  he  lived  was  to  bring  glory  to  God  in 
the  Highest  by  saving  the  souls  of  his  fellow-men. 


Dr.  McDowell  had  a  brother,  WILLIAM  ANDEKSON 
McDowELL,  who  is  justly  entitled  to  a  commemorative 
notice.  He  was  born  in  Lamington,  May  15th,  1789 ; 
was  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  1809 ; 
studied  Theology  under  Dr.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  of 
Princeton,  and  Dr.  Kollock,  of  Savannah,  who  after 
wards  became  his  brother-in-law ;  was  ordained  and  in 
stalled  Pastor  of  the  church  at  Bound  Brook,  in  De 
cember,  1813,  but  remained  there  less  than  a  year;  was 
installed  at  Morristown,  in  December,  1814,  and  con 
tinued  there  about  nine  years ;  was  installed  as  Pastor 
of  a  church  in  Charleston,  in  December,  1823;  was 
honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from 
Franklin  College,  Georgia,  in  1827;  was  Moderator  of 
the  General  Assembly,  in  1833,  and  at  the  same  time 


142  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Mis 
sions,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office  with  great 
fidelity  until  1850,  when  his  declining  health  obliged 
him  to  withdraw  from  it.  He  died  at  Lamington,  on 
the  17th  of  September,  1851.  He  was  exceedingly 
quiet  and  unobtrusive  in  his  manner,  but  possessed  an 
intellect  of  uncommon  vigor  and  clearness,  with  fine  so 
cial  feelings,  and  an  earnest,  devoted  piety.  He  was 
withal  an  excellent  preacher  and  pastor,  and  sustained 
honorably  and  usefully  every  relation. 

GEORGE  JUNKIN,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

GEORGE  JUNKIN,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Eleanor  (Coch- 
ran)  Junkin,  was  born  in  Cumberland  County,  Pennsyl 
vania,  on  the  1st  of  November,  1790.  His  parents  were 
of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  and  belonged  to  that  branch  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  known  as  Covenanters.  They 
were  most  faithful  in  the  religious  education  of  their 
children,  and  the  event  proved  that  their  parental  fidel 
ity  was  not  in  vain.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
very  early  brought  into  a  serious  state  of  mind,  and  his 
own  conviction  was  that,  in  his  eleventh  year,  he  experi 
enced  a  radical  change  of  character.  He  did  not,  how 
ever,  make  a  public  profession  of  his  faith  until  he  had 
reached  his  nineteenth  year ;  and  for  this  he  was  greatly 
indebted  to  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  James  Galloway, 
his  pastor  at  Mercer,  who  afterwards  became  his  brother- 
in-law.  From  this  time  till  the  close  of  his  life,  he 
seems  to  have  had  scarcely  any  doubts  of  his  gracious 
acceptance. 

His  earliest  years  were  spent  in  Cumberland  County, 
and  afterwards  in  Mercer  County,  where  his  father's 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


family  liad  their  home.  The  means  of  intellectual  cult 
ure,  in  that  region,  were,  at  that  time,  by  no  means 
abundant;  and  yet,  by  diligent  application,  and  with 
such  aid  as  he  was  able  to  command,  he  was  fitted  for 
Jefferson  College,  and  actually  became  a  member  of  it 
in  1809.  He  graduated  in  1813,  having,  for  the  sake 
of  lessening  the  expense  of  his  education,  spent  a  large 
part  of  his  college  life  at  home,  though  keeping  along 
with  the  prescribed  course  of  study. 

Immediately  after  his  graduation,  —  his  eye  and  his 
heart  being  set  upon  the  Ministry,  —  he  became  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Associate  He- 
formed  Church,  under  the  care  of  the  illustrious  Dr. 
Mason.  Here  he  remained  three  years,  taking  the  regu 
lar  theological  course,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Monongahela,  of  the  Asso 
ciate  Reformed  Church,  in  September,  1816.  Agreeably 
to  an  existing  arrangement  in  that  Church,  by  which 
licentiates  were  sent,  by  the  General  Synod,  to  the  sev 
eral  presbyteries,  Mr.  Junkin  was  sent  to  labor  within  the 
presbyteries  of  New  York  and  Saratoga.  He,  accord- 
ingl}~,  preached  there  in  the  autumn  and  winter  months 
of  1816,  and  afterwards  was  engaged  in  missionary  la 
bor  in  different  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland. 
In  June,  1818,  with  a  view  to  his  greater  usefulness 
as  a  missionary,  he  received  ordination  in  Gettysburg. 
Shortly  after  this  he  was  invited  to  take  charge  of  the 
united  congregations  of  Milton  and  Pennell  (now  Me- 

O         O  \ 

Ewensville),  and,  having  accepted  the  invitation,  en 
tered  at  once  upon  his  labors  as  pastor. 

His  connection  with  this  charge  continued  about 
eleven  years;  and  in  the  mean  time  (in  1824)  he  passed 


144  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUKION". 

from  the  Associate  Reformed  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  During  this  period  he  was  constantly  and 
earnestly  engaged  in  the  various  duties  of  the  ministry, 
and  had  the  evidence,  on  every  side  of  him,  that  his  la 
bors  were  not  in  vain.  He  resigned  his  charge,  however, 
in  1830,  and,  in  the  hope  of  attaining  to  yet  higher  use 
fulness,  accepted  the  position  of  Principal  of  the  Manual 
Labor  Academy  at  Germantown.  Here  he  remained  for 
two  years,  when  he  was  invited  to  remove  his  students 
to  Easton,  and,  taking  advantage  of  a  charter  obtained 
from  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  for  a  military 
school,  to  become  the  President  of  a  college.  This  invi 
tation  he  accepted ;  and,  shortly  after,  Lafayette  College 
was  organized,  and  he  entered  upon  his  work  with  a 
zeal  mounting  up  well-nigh  to  enthusiasm.  He  dis 
charged  the  duties  of  this  new  relation  with  great  abil 
ity  and  fidelity;  and  besides  his  week-day  labors  in 
connection  with  the  college,  which  were  arduous  and 
incessant,  he  usually  preached,  at  least  once,  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  sometimes  three,  and  even  four,  times. 
In  1833,  he  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  from  the  college  at  which  he  graduated,  and, 
in  1856,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Rut 
gers  College. 

In  1841,  Dr.  Junkin  accepted  the  Presidency  of  Mi 
ami  University,  Ohio.  After  having  labored  here  with 
great  success  for  three  years, — his  successor  at  Lafay 
ette,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Yeomans,  having  resigned  his  place, 
—he  was  earnestly  invited  to  return  to  Easton,  and 
resume  his  former  position.  This  he  actually  did,  and 
continued  there  till  the  autumn  of  1848,  when  he  ac 
cepted  an  invitation  to  become  President  of  Washington 


BIOGKAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  145 

College,  Lexington,  Va.  His  parting  with,  his  classes 
at  Lafayette,  on  Commencement  day,  was  a  scene  of  the 
most  tender  interest;  and  the  estimation  in  which  he 
was  there  held  was  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  twenty-six  of  those  who  had  been  his  students 
there,  appeared  at  the  Washington  College,  to  resume 
their  studies  under  his  direction. 

Here  he  continued  until  May,  1861, — twelve  years 
and  a  half ;  and,  as  in  every  public  position  he  had  pre 
viously  occupied,  so  here,  he  was  a  model  of  energy, 
perseverance,  and  fidelity.  When  the  clouds  began  to 
darken  our  political  horizon,  and  to  forebode  the  horrors 
of  war,  he  had  no  sympathy  with  the  proposed  seces 
sion,  regarding  the  principle  as  a  fallacy,  both  in  law 
and  in  morals ;  and  as  he  found  the  current  too  strong 
to  resist,  nothing  remained  for  him  but  to  vacate  the 
place  which  he  had  held  so  long,  and  so  usefully  and 
honorably.  He  left  behind  many  warm  friends,  some 
of  whom  were  in  full  sympathy  with  his  political  views, 
while  the  greater  portion  of  them  believed  that  he  had 
fallen  into  a  sad,  though  honest,  mistake.  He  came 
from  Virginia  to  Philadelphia,  where  he,  ever  after, 
found  a  home  in  the  family  of  his  son. 

The  residue  of  his  life  was  spent,  as  the  preceding 
part  of  it  had  been,  in  a  constant  succession  of  efforts  to 
do  good.  During  his  seven  remaining  years,  he  preached 
about  seven  hundred  times.  He  labored  as  a  Colpor 
teur  of  the  Board  of  Publication,  visiting  encampments, 
as  he  had  opportunity,  distributing  tracts  and  books, 
and  beseeching  sinners  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  He 
spent  days  and  even  weeks  among  the  southern  prison 
ers  at  Fort  Delaware  and  Point  Lookout,  and  was  one 
10 


146  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

of  the  first  to  exercise  his  mission  of  mercy  after  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg.  He  wrote  many  articles  for  the 
newspapers  in  defence  of  a  proper  observance  of  the 
Sabbath,  against  the  threatened  encroachments  of  legis 
lative  authority.  He  also  officiated  in  two  benevolent 
institutions  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  one  of  them  the  in 
mates  had  arranged  his  desk  with  reference  to  his 
speaking,  on  the  very  day  that  he  died.  And  besides 
all  his  other  labors,  he  wrote  and  published,  during  his 
last  years,  a  Treatise  on  Sanctification,  a  Treatise  on  the 
Ancient  Tabernacle  of  the  Hebrews,  and  some  smaller 
works;  and  he  left  behind  him  in  manuscript  a  very 
full  Commentary  on  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,— 
the  whole  of  it  written  in  a  fine,  bold  hand,  after  he  had 
completed  his  seventy-fifth  year. 

Dr.  Junkin  had,  throughout  his  whole  life,  dreaded 
the  pains  of  death ;  but  when  death  actually  came  to 
him,  it  took  on  its  mildest  form.  Until  Monday,  the 
18th  of  May,  1868,  he  was  in  his  usual  health ;  on  that 
day  he  was  taken  ill;  the  next  he  was  greatly  relieved; 
and  the  next,  Wednesday,  the  20th,  without  any  appar 
ent  aggravation  of  his  symptoms,  he  died,  with  the 
name  of  Jesus  on  his  lips.  A  Discourse,  commemorative 
of  his  life  and  character,  was  preached  in  the  West 
Spruce  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia,  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  James  H.  Mason  Knox,  on  the  28th  of  June 
following. 

Dr.  Junkin  was  married  in  June,  1819,  to  Julia 
Rush  Miller,  of  Philadelphia,  a  lady  of  great  personal 
attractions,  of  high  intelligence,  and  earnest  piety. 
They  had  nine  children,  —  five  sons  and  three  daughters. 
Of  the  sons  who  lived  to  maturity,  two  became  minis- 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  147 

ters  of  the  Gospel,  two  became  lawyers,  and  one  a 
teacher.  The  daughters  were  all  most  respectably  mar 
ried.  Mrs.  Junkin  died,  greatly  lamented,  in  February, 
1854. 

Besides  the  works  already  referred  to,  Dr.  Junkin 
published,  in  1839,  a  Treatise  on  Justification,  and,  in 
1844,  Lectures  on  Prophecy.  Several  of  his  occasional 
Sermons  and  Addresses  were  printed.  He  was  also  a 
liberal  contributor  to  many  of  the  periodicals  of  his 
day. 

Dr.  Junkin  was  a  man  of  commanding  appearance, 
thouo-h  not  above  the  medium  height ;  of  a  countenance 

O  O  * 

expressive  of  great  energy,  and  fine  intellectual  powers, 
and  of  manners  simple  and  direct,  and  yet  prepossess 
ing.  In  his  private  intercourse  he  was  sociable  and 
communicative,  and  when  he  ceased  talking,  he  always 
left  the  impression  that  it  was  not  for  want  of  anything 
more  to  say.  In  his  Theology  he  was  thoroughly  Cal- 
vinistic,  and  was  not  specially  tolerant  towards  any 
departure  from  the  accredited  standards.  In  the  con 
troversy  by  which  the  Church  was  agitated  and  finally 
separated  in  1837,  he  took  the  deepest  interest,  and 
though  his  intense  regard  for  orthodoxy  may  have  sug 
gested  measures  that  some  thought  extreme,  yet  those 
who  knew  him  best  have  testified  of  his  private  expres 
sions  of  respect  and  affection  even  towards  those  from 
whom  he  differed  most  widely.  Nowhere  was  he  more 
at  home  than  in  a  church  court :  here  his  promptness, 
his  energy,  his  keen  insight  into  matters  of  difficulty, 
and  his  faculty  at  suggesting  the  appropriate  remedies, 
were  specially  apparent ;  and  no  one  who  watched  his 
movements  could  resist  the  impression  that  he  was  act- 


148  PKESBYTEKIAN    KEUKION. 

ing  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  conscience.  He  was 
just  such  a  preacher  as  might  be  expected  from  his  pe 
culiar  intellectual  and  moral  constitution,  in  connection 
with  his  large  measure  of  Christian  fervor ;  he  brought 
out  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  with  great  simplicity 
and  plainness,  while  yet  his  large  and  well-stored  mind 
would  often  suggest  thoughts  which  were  beyond  the 
common  range  of  pulpit  instruction.  In  discharging 
the  duties  of  the  pastoral  relation,  he  was  eminently 
felicitous ;  his  fine  social  qualities  combining  with  his 
deep  sense  of  responsibility  and  his  earnest  devotion  to 
his  work,  to  make  this  part  of  his  labor  at  once  pleasant 
to  himself  and  profitable  to  those  to  whom  he  minis 
tered.  He  was  eminently  beloved  and  honored  as  the 
Head  of  a  college ;  and  while  his  admirable  powers  and 
qualities  rendered  him  an  object  of  attraction  to  the 
students,  they  were  a  pledge  at  once  of  his  fidelity  and 
success.  The  several  churches  and  institutions  with 
which  he  has  been  connected,  rejoiced  in  his  light,  and 
now  they  gratefully  cherish  his  memory. 

JOSEPH  SMITH,  D.D. 

JOSEPH  SMITH  was  born  in  Fayette  County,  Pa.,  on 
the  15th  of  July,  1796.  His  paternal  grandfather  was 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Smith,  and  his  maternal  grandfather 
the  Rev.  James  Power,  D.D.,  both  of  whom  were  of 
that  noble  band  of  ministers  who  first  preached  the 
Gospel  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains."  His  father 
was  the  Rev.  David  Smith,  a  highly  gifted  young  man, 
who  died  in  1803,  after  a  most  successful  ministry  of 
only  nine  years.  He  (the  subject  of  this  article)  be 
came,  in  due  time,  a  member  of  Jefferson  College,  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  149 

graduated  in  1815,  —  the  class  to  which  he  belonged 
consisting  of  only  two  persons  besides  himself.  It  was 
during  the  last  year  of  his  college  life  that  his  religious 
views  and  feelings  became  so  far  matured,  that  he  was 
enabled  to  make  a  public  profession  of  his  faith  in 
Christ. 

After  leaving  college,  he  went  to  Virginia,  and  spent 
a  year  in  teaching  an  academy  at  Berryville,  then  in 
Frederick  County.  In  the  autumn  of  1816,  he  com 
menced  the  study  of  Theology,  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hill, 
of  Winchester;  but,  in  the  fall  of  1817,  became  a  stu 
dent  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton.  Here 
he  remained  until  April,  1819,  when  he  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  Gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of  Winchester. 
During  the  two  following  years  he  was  employed  as  a 
Domestic  Missionary  in  five  counties  immediately  east 
of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  extending  from  the  Potomac  to 
Albemarle,  Va.  In  May,  1821,  he  was  called  to  the 
church  of  Harrisonburg,  Rockingharn  County,  and, 
having  accepted  the  call,  was  ordained  and  installed,  in 
the  course  of  the  ensuing  summer,  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Lexington.  Here  he  remained  till  1826;  and  then  be 
came  pastor  of  the  church  at  Staunton,  where  he  con 
tinued  about  six  years,  —  until  the  fall  of  1832.  He 
removed  now  to  Fredericktown,  Md.,  and  was  there 
preaching  and  teaching  for  one  year,  and  then  accepted 
a  call  from  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  as 
pastor  till  the  spring  of  1837.  At  that  time  he  accepted 
an  invitation  to  become  President  of  Franklin  College, 
Harrison  County,  Ohio,  but  continued  there  only  till  the 
fall  of  1838,  when  he  returned  to  Frederick,  Md.,  as 
both  Pastor  of  the  church  and  President  of  Frederick 


150  PEESBYTEKIAN 

College.  He  resigned  his  pastoral  charge,  in  April, 
1843,  and  the  office  of  President,  in  July,  1844;  and, 
shortly  after  the  last-mentioned  date,  was  employed  as 
a  stated  supply  at  Ellicott's  Mills,  and  a  few  months 
later  was  constituted  pastor  of  the  church.  The  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Jef 
ferson  College,  in  1845.  In  September,  1846,  he  ac 
cepted  an  agency  from  the  Board  of  Missions  in  the 
Synods  of  Pittsburg,  Wheeling,  and  Ohio ;  and  held  this 
office,  residing  first  in  Steubenville,  and  then  in  Alle 
gheny  City,  until  April,  1850.  He  then  accepted  a  call  to 
Elizabeth  and  Roundhill,  in  Redstone  Presbytery,  and 
remained  there  till  about  the  close  of  1855,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  1856  was  transferred  to  Greensburg,  where 
he  had  his  last  pastorate,  and  continued  through  a  pe 
riod  of  ten  years.  The  infirmities  of  age  had  now  begun 
to  creep  over  him,  and,  after  having  been  engaged  in 
the  service  of  his  Master  forty-seven  years,  he  felt  that 
he  had  a  right  to  retire  from  the  active  duties  of  the 
ministry,  and,  therefore,  for  the  last  time,  resigned  his 
pastoral  charge.  He  preached,  however,  occasionally, 
after  this,  and  when  he  could  not  use  his  voice  in  public 
speaking,  he  would  use  his  pen  in  his  own  house,  and 
always  with  marked  ability. 

Dr.  Smith  had  a  naturally  vigorous  constitution,  and 
was  never  the  subject  of  any  protracted  illness.  For 
some  weeks  previous  to  his  death,  however,  he  had  suf 
fered  from  an  affection  of  the  head,  which  had  disabled 
him  for  any  intellectual  labor.  On  the  3d  of  December, 
1868,  he  rose  in  the  morning,  and  attempted  to  dress 
himself,  but  his  strength  failed,  and  with  it  the  power 
of  speech,  premonitoiy  of  the  extinction  of  the  vital 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  151 

principle.  He  lingered  until  the  afternoon  of  the  next 
day,  and  then  passed  onward  to  his  rest.  A  Discourse 
commemorative  of  his  life  and  character,  and  full  of 
the  most  interesting  details,  was  afterwards  preached 
at  Greensburg,  by  the  Eev.  W.  H.  Gill,  and  was  pub 
lished. 

Dr.  Smith  was  married,  in  1821,  to  a  daughter  of 
John  Bell,  a  wrell-known  merchant  in  Winchester,  and 
a  greatly  respected  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  He  became  the  father  of  eight  children,  six 
of  whom,  with  their  mother,  survive  him.  One  of  his 
sons  is  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  two  of  his  daugh 
ters  are  the  wives  of  ministers. 

Dr.  Smith  was  an  able  and  useful,  though  not  very 
voluminous,  writer.  Besides  numerous  contributions  to 
newspapers  and  other  periodicals,  he  published  Old 
Redstone,  or  Historical  Sketches  of  Western  Presbyteri- 
anism :  its  Early  Ministers,  its  Perilous  Times,  and  its 
First  Records;  and  the  History  of  Jefferson  College. 
Both  these  works  are  carefully  and  elaborately  written ; 
and  while  they  are  of  great  historical  interest  anywhere, 
to  the  Presbyterians  of  Western  Pennsylvania  they 
must  be  invaluable. 

From  the  sketch  of  Dr.  Smith's  life  now  given,  it  is 
apparent  that  his  ministry  \vas  marked  by  an  unusual 
succession  of  changes.  In  a  letter  written  by  himself, 
from  which  most  of  the  material  for  this  sketch  has 
been  drawn,  there  is  the  following  statement  with  ref 
erence  to  this  remarkable  feature  of  his  life:  "Thus 
you  see  what  a  sojourner  I  have  been,  having  lived  and 
labored  in  four  different  States.  To  explain  the  reasons 
which  led  to  all  these  changes  would  weary  my  pa- 


152  PKESBYTEKIAN    KE UNION". 

tience, — much  more  yours.  One  thing  I  can  say  with 
satisfaction,  —  I  have  never  had  any  trouble  or  difficulty 
with  any  congregation.  .  I  have  left  no  place  where  I 
had  any  reason  to  believe  they  were  tired  of  me,  —  no 
place  that  I  cannot  now  visit  with  mutual  satisfaction, 
as  I  am  firmly  persuaded.  And  it  has  always  seemed 
to  me  that  my  way  was  distinctly  cleared  before  me  by 
the  good  hand  of  our  God.  The  Lord  has  given  me 
the  privilege  and  honor  of  raising  up  to  comparative 
strength  and  independence  several  churches,  in  every 
instance  doubling  the  numbers  of  their  membership, 
and  the  still  greater  privilege  of  healing  breaches,  re 
moving  schisms  and  divisions,  and  restoring  harmony. 
Yet  the  review  of  the  Jong  and  scattered  character  of 
my  ministerial  life  teaches  me  some  very  humbling 
lessons." 

Dr.  Smith  was  a  man  not  only  of  varied  experience, 
but  of  pure  and  elevated  character.  A  stranger,  on 
meeting  him,  could  not  help  forming  the  opinion,  from 
his  countenance  and  manner,  that  he  was  not  only  a 
highly  intellectual,  but  genial  and  amiable,  man ;  and 
this  impression  was  sure  to  be  justified  and  confirmed 
by  a  subsequent  acquaintance.  Perhaps  no  one  of  his 
intellectual  powers  was  more  prominent  than  his  judg 
ment.  His  views  of  men  and  things,  where  he  had  had 
very  slight  opportunities  for  observation,  he  rarely  had 
occasion  to  change,  upon  any  subsequent  enlargement 
of  his  knowledge.  He  was  always  a  diligent  student, 
and  his  mind  became  a  vast  storehouse  of  varied  infor 
mation,  which  he  was  ever  ready  to  dispense  as  he  had 
opportunity.  But,  with  his  extensive  acquisitions,  he 
was  modest  and  unpretending,  and  never  uttered  a  sen- 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  153 

tence  for  the  sake  of  self-glorification.  His  Christian 
character  was  at  once  consistent  and  decided.  "With 
great  fervor  of  spirit  he  combined  a  discreet  and 
thoughtful  habit  of  speaking  and  acting,  thus  render 
ing  his  influence  both  safe  and  pure.  As  a  Preacher,  he 
could  perhaps  scarcely  be  considered  a  favorite  with 
the  multitude;  but  to  the  more  reflecting  and  judicious 
his  clear  and  logical  exhibitions  of  Divine  truth  were 
always  most  acceptable.  He  was  a  vigorous  helper  in 
all  ecclesiastical  proceedings,  perfectly  familiar  with  all 
the  forms  of  business,  and  able,  sometimes,  by  his 
timely  suggestions,  to  meet  difficulties  that  seemed 
well-nigh  insuperable.  At  the  same  time,  he  knew 
how  to  treat  an  opponent  with  the  utmost  courtesy, 
often  disarming  him  by  kindness ;  and  while  nothing 
could  induce  him  to  make  the  slightest  sacrifice  of  prin 
ciple,  neither  could  he  needlessly  put  at  hazard  the 
peace  of  the  Church.  And  the  brightest  attribute  of 
his  character  was,  that  he  was  an  eminent  saint :  he 
lived  habitually  under  the  influence  of  the  powers  of 
the  world  to  come ;  and  when  he  passed  away,  all  who 
knew  him  felt  the  fullest  assurance  that  he  had  gone  to 
receive  the  crown  of  glory  that  f adeth  not  away. 

•WILLIAM  W.  PHILLIPS,  D.D. 

WILLIAM  WIET  PHILLIPS  was  born  in  Florida,  Mont 
gomery  County,  N.Y.,  on  the  23d  of  September,  1796. 
His  father  was  born  in  England,  and  came  with  his 
parents  to  this  country  while  he  was  yet  a  boy,  and  the 
family  still  occupy  the  place  where  they  originally  set 
tled,  and  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born. 
Having  gone  through  his  preparatory  course,  he  was 


154  PRESBYTERIAN 


admitted,  in  due  time,  to  Union  College,  where  lie  grad 
uated,  in  1813,  when  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age. 
Shortly  after  his  graduation,  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Associate  Reformed  Theological  Seminary  in  New 
York,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason.  After  completing  a  three-years  course  of  study 
at  this  institution,  he  spent  a  year  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  New  Bruns 
wick,  under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Liv 
ingston.  lie  was  licensed  to  preach,  by  the  Classis  of 
New  Brunswick,  but,  shortly  after,  transferred  his  rela 
tion  to  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  received  a  call 
from  the  Pearl  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  in  New 
York,  which  he  accepted,  and  in  April,  1818,  was  or 
dained  and  installed  as  its  pastor,  by  the  New  York 
Presbytery.  Here  he  continued  a  most  useful  and  ac 
ceptable  pastor  for  eight  years,  when  he  was  translated 
to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  then  worshipping  in 
Wall  Street.  This  church  was,  in  due  time,  removed  to 
what  was  then  the  upper  part  of  the  city  ;  and,  after  the 
new  edifice  was  built,  he  continued  to  occupy  it  till  near 
the  close  of  life.  Though  he  had  been  for  several  years 
the  subject  of  a  painful  chronic  disease,  he  still  con 
tinued  actively  engaged  in  the  duties  of  the  ministry 
until  within  about  four  weeks  of  his  death.  He  died 
on  the  20th  of  March,  1865,  after  having  been  a  minis 
ter  of  the  gospel  forty-seven  years.  The  Address  at  his 
funeral  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Krebs,  with 
whom  he  had  long  been  in  the  most  intimate  relations, 
and,  on  the  next  Sabbath,  followed  a  Commemorative 
Discourse  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  W.  Dickinson. 
Both  the  Address  and  the  Discourse  presented  very 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  155 

felicitously  the  character  they  were  designed  to  com 
memorate. 

The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon 
Mr.  Phillips  by  Columbia  College,  in  1826,  when  he 
was  only  thirty  years  of  age.  He  was  a  Trustee  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Coun 
cil  of  the  New  York  University.  He  was  both  a  Trustee 
and  a  Director  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton, 
and  of  the  Board  of  Directors  he  was  President.  He 
was  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions,  and,  during  several  of  his  last  years, 
was  President  of  that  Board  also.  He  was  often  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  in  1835  was  its 
Moderator.  The  services  devolved  upon  him  by  these 
various  offices  were  numerous  and  onerous ;  but  he 
adapted  himself  to  each  with  apparently  as  deep  an 
interest  as  if  it  had  been  the  sole  work  to  which  he  was 
designated. 

Dr.  Phillips  was  married,  in  1818,  to  Frances  Sy 
mington,  daughter  of  James  and  Frances  (Evans) 
Symington,  of  the  city  of  New  York.  They  were  the 
parents  of  twelve  children,  nine  of  whom,  with  their 
mother,  still  survive. 

Dr.  Phillips  was  a  firmly  built  man,  with  a  face  indi 
cating  thoughtfulness  and  gravity  rather  than  an  ex 
citable  temperament.  So  admirably  blended  were  his 
intellectual  and  moral  powers  that  it  were  impossible 
to  do  justice  to  the  one  without  including  also  some 
estimate  of  the  other.  Among  the  more  prominent  of 
the  faculties  of  his  mind  was  a  calm  and  sound  judg 
ment,  that  rarely  mistook  in  respect  to  any  matter  on 
which  it  was  called  to  exercise  itself.  He  was  naturally 


156  PKESBYTEKIAN    KEUNION. 

of  a  quiet  and  retiring  habit,  and  never  obtruded  him 
self  in  any  circumstances,  while  yet  he  was  always 
prompt  to  obey  the  call  of  duty,  even  at  the  expense  of 
placing  himself  in  an  attitude  of  antagonism  towards 
others.  His  religion  moulded  his  whole  character  and 
diffused  itself  over  his  whole  life.  In  prosperity  his 
heart  glowed  with  thankfulness,  and  in  adversity  he 
was  not  only  submissive  and  trustful,  but  was  calling 
gratefully  to  remembrance  the  blessings  that  still  re 
mained  to  him.  In  his  family  his  presence  was  constant 
sunshine.  Among  the  people  of  his  charge  he  moved 
about  as  a  good  angel,  intent  on  carrying  blessings  in 
his  train ;  and  whether  they  were  in  sorrow  or  in  joy, 
the  fitting  words  of  counsel  were  always  upon  his  lips. 
In  the  pulpit  there  was  nothing  about  him  of  a  sensa 
tional  or  startling  character,  but  he  was  a  model  of 
simplicity  and  fervor,  and  brought  out  the  great  truths 
of  the  gospel  in  a  luminous  and  impressive  manner. 
His  good  influence  was  felt,  not  only  in  every  circle  in 
which  he  moved,  but  throughout  the  whole  Church ;  for 
Providence  placed  him  in  various  responsible  stations, 
and  few  of  his  contemporaries  had  more  to  do  in  mould 
ing  the  destinies  of  the  denomination  with  which  he 
was  connected  than  himself.  If  others  have  possessed 
characters  more  attractive  to  the  multitude,  his  was  one 
that  must  always  be  gratefully  remembered  for  the 
harmonious  combination  of  the  good  qualities  that  com 
posed  it. 

JOSEPH    H.  JONES,  D.D. 

The  father  of  JOSEPH  HuNTHsrGTON  JOISTES,  was  Am- 
asa  Jones,  and  his  mother  was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  157 

Dr.  Joseph  Huntington,  author  of  the  work  which  at 
tracted  much  attention  in  its  day,  entitled  "  Calvinism 
Improved."  He  (the  son)  was  born  at  Coventry,  Conn., 
the  residence  of  his  parents,  on  the  24th  of  August, 
1797.  In  1810,  he  began  to  prepare  for  college  at 
Coventry;  but  on  the  removal  of  the  Rev.  Abiel  Abbott, 
under  whom  he  had  previously  studied,  to  Byfield, 
Mass.,  to  become  Preceptor  of  Dummer  Academy,  he 
quickly  followed,  and  spent  somewhat  more  than  a 
year  under  his  instruction.  He  entered  Harvard  Uni 
versity,  in  1813,  on  the  day  that  completed  his  fifteenth 
year.  Here  he  had  a  highly  respectable  standing,  and 
graduated  with  honor,  in  1817.  Among  his  classmates 
were  George  Bancroft,  Caleb  Gushing,  George  B.  Emer 
son,  Dr.  Tyng,  and  others,  w^ho  have  impressed  them 
selves  indelibly  on  our  civil  or  religious  institutions. 

Shortly  after  his  graduation,  he  accepted  a  tutorship 
in  Bowdoin  College,  and  held  the  office  for  a  year. 
During  his  residence  at  Cambridge,  he  had  fallen  in  with 
the  current  of  religious  thought  that  prevailed  there, 
and  had  become  a  decided  Unitarian;  but,  on  going 
to  Brunswick,  and  becoming  associated  with  President 
Appleton  and  some  of  the  professors  and  tutors,  whose 
views  were  thoroughly  orthodox,  he  was  led  to  re-exam 
ine  the  system  which  he  had  adopted  at  Cambridge, 
and  the  result  was  that  he  rejected  it  altogether.  This, 
however,  did  not  occasion  any  interruption  of  his  pleas 
ant  relations  with  his  Harvard  friends;  and  of  the 
generous  qualities  and  kind  offices  of  some  of  them  he 
never  grew  weary  of  speaking  as  long  as  he  lived. 

In  1819,  he  removed  to  Wilkesbarre,  Penn.,  where  his 
father's  family  had  become  settled,  and  took  charge  of 


158  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNIOjST. 

the  academy  in  that  place.  His  mind,  meanwhile,  had 
taken  a  thoroughly  serious  direction,  and  he  not  only 
indulged  the  hope  that  he  had  been  born  from  above, 
but  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  idea  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  become  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel.  In  this  state 
of  mind  he  actually  entered  on  his  theological  studies, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Gildersleeve. 

In  1822,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel  by  the 
Susquehanna  Presbytery,  and  subsequently  spent  three 
months  as  a  supply  at  Montrose,  the  capital  of  Susque 
hanna  County.  While  at  Montrose,  he  was  invited  to 
Union,  Broome  County,  N.Y.,  and  here  also  he  spent 
three  months,  and  declined  an  earnest  request  to  settle 
there  as  pastor.  In  the  the  spring  of  1823  he  joined 
the  Princeton  Seminary,  and  remained  there  about  a 
year,  though,  during  one  of  his  vacations  he  went  on  a 
mission  to  Erie  Run,  and  there  declined  another  invita 
tion  to  settle  in  the  ministry.  In  1824,  he  was  ordained 
by  the  Susquehanna  Presbytery,  and  immediately  after 
took  his  dismission  to  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia, 
and  became  a  supply  for  the  church  at  Woodbury,  N.  J. 

In  1825,  he  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Church  in  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  He  accepted 
the  call,  and  was  installed  on  the  28th  of  July,  when 
he  had  not  fully  recovered  from  an  attack  of  bilious 
fever.  Here  he  remained,  laboring  faithfully  and  suc 
cessfully  among  his  people,  until  1838,  when  he  was 
called  to  be  the  pastor  of  the  Spruce  Street  Church,  in 
Philadelphia, — the  same  church  with  which  Dr.  Neill 
had  been  connected,  previous  to  his  removal  to  Dickin 
son  College. 

In  1842,  Mr.  Jones  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  159 

Divinity  from  Lafayette  College,  and,  in  1855,  was 
honored  in  a  similar  way  by  Harvard  University. 

Dr.  Jones  continued  the  pastor  of  the  Spruce  Street 
Church  about  twenty-three  years,  and  discharged  the 
duties  of  his  office  with  exemplary  diligence  and  fidel 
ity.  In  1853,  he  was  appointed  a  Trustee  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  very  soon  became  deeply  interested  in 
the  Fund  for  Disabled  Ministers.  He,  however,  re 
tained  his  pastoral  charge  until  May,  1861,  when  he 
retired  from  it,  and  devoted  the  residue  of  his  life  to  a 
course  of  effort  designed  to  relieve  his  suffering  breth 
ren.  In  this  cause  he  labored  most  earnestly  and  faith 
fully,  and  no  doubt  the  blessing  of  many  ready  to  perish 
came  upon  him.  He  died  so  suddenly  that  the  tidings 
of  his  death  shocked  the  whole  community.  He  had 
just  returned  from  New  York,  apparently  in  his  usual 
health  and  spirits,  but  was  attacked  the  same  evening 
with  a  malady,  which,  though  it  seemed,  after  a  few 
hours,  to  yield  to  treatment,  returned  upon  him  before 
morning  with  a  fatal  power.  He  died  on  the  22d  of 
December,  1868,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his 
age.  Several  of  the  ministers  with  whom  he  had  been 
associated  delivered  commemorative  addresses  at  his 
funeral. 

Dr.  Jones  was  married,  in  October,  1825,  to  Anna 
Maria  Howell,  daughter  of  Joshua  L.  and  Anna  B. 

/  O 

Howell,  at  Fancy  Hill,  Gloucester  County,  N.  J.  They 
had  five  children,  only  three  of  whom  survive.  Mrs. 
Jones  died  in  January,  1865. 

Besides  several  occasional  Sermons,  Dr.  Jones  pub 
lished  the  following:  An  account  of  the  Revival  at 
New  Brunswick ;  Influence  of  Physical  Causes  on  Re- 


160  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

ligious  Experience ;  Life  of  Ashbel  Green,  D.D. ;  and 
Memoir  of  Dr.  Cuyler. 

Dr.  Jones  was  rather  under  the  medium  size,  though, 
on  the  whole,  a  well-formed  man,  and  possessing  the 
usual  degree  of  bodily  vigor.  His  face  was  a  fair  index 
to  some  of  the  features  of  his  character :  it  indicated 
great  kindness,  with  a  tinge  of  melancholy ;  and  these 
were  the  qualities  for  which  he  was  especially  distin 
guished.  His  natural  sympathy  with  human  want  and 
wretchedness,  sanctified,  as  it  was,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
rendered  him  eminently  fit  for  the  position  he  occupied 
in  connection  with  the. Fund  for  Disabled  Ministers. 
Not  only  did  his  benevolent  spirit  prompt  him  to  ex 
plore  thoroughly  the  various  parts  of  the  Church,  to  find 
out  the  proper  subjects  of  this  form  of  charity,  but  also 
to  gather  means  sufficient  to  meet  the  varied  exigences 
that  w^ere  made  known  to  him.  In  his  ordinary  inter 
course  he  was  cheerful,  and  sometimes  even  buoyant; 
but  occasionally  he  had  turns  of  deep  depression,  occa 
sioned  by  a  withdrawal,  to  a  great  extent,  of  the  evi 
dences  of  the  Divine  favor.  It  was  this  proclivity  to 
gloom,  no  doubt,  that  suggested  to  him  the  writing  of 
his  admirable  work  on  the  Influence  of  Physical  Causes 
on  Religious  Experience ;  a  work  that  has  already  done 
much,  and  is  destined  to  do  more,  in  guiding  darkened 
spirits  into  the  light  of  heavenly  truth.  As  a  Preacher, 
there  was  nothing  about  him  to  awaken  the  applauses 
of  the  multitude,  but  there  was  much  in  his  discourses 
for  the  thoughtful  and  earnest  mind  to  feed  upon,  — 
much  that  could  be  carried  away  as  material  for  lasting 
edification  and  comfort.  As  a  Pastor,  he  showed  no  re 
spect  of  persons ;  the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  161 

poor,  came  equally  within  the  range  of  his  attentions. 
In  his  more  general  relations  to  the  Church,  he  mani 
fested  great  consideration,  and  good  sense  and  regard 
to  the  Presbyterian  standards,  while  yet  he  was  watch 
ful  for  the  promotion  of  harmony  among  brethren. 
He  was  universally  esteemed  and  honored  while  living, 
and  the  generations  to  come  will  take  care  that  his 
memory  does  not  die. 

WILLIAM  M.  ENGLES,  D.D. 

WILLIAM  MORRISON  EJSTGLES,  a  son  of  Silas  and  Annie 
(Patterson)  Engles,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  October 
12,  1797.  He  passed  his  early  days  at  home,  enjoying 
the  best  advantages  of  education  which  the  city  afforded. 
In  due  time  he  became  a  member  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  where,  notwithstanding  he  was  among 
the  younger  members  of  his  class,  he  graduated,  in  1815, 
with  one  of  the  highest  honors.  After  studying  Theol 
ogy  for  three  years,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Samuel 
B.  Wylie,  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  he  was 
licensed  to  preach,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia, 
in  October,  1818.  Shortly  after  his  licensure,  he  set 
out  on  a  missionary  tour  in  the  Valley  of  Wyoming, 
where  his  fresh  and  earnest  preaching  is  said  to  have 
produced  a  powerful  impression. 

Having  performed  the  missionary  service  allotted  to 
him,  he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  on  the  6th  of 
July,  1820,  was  ordained  and  installed  Pastor  of  the 
Seventh  Presbyterian  Church,  which  had  previously 
existed  as  a  colony  of  English  Independents,  but  had 
shortly  before,  owing  to  various  circumstances,  become 
connected  with  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  He 


162  PEESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

continued  in  this  relation  until  September,  1834,  when, 
on  account  of  an  affection  of  .the  throat,  he  was  obliged 
to  discontinue  public  speaking,  and  therefore  resigned 
his  pastoral  charge.  The  church  enjoyed  a  good  degree 
of  prosperity  under  his  ministry,  and  if  its  numbers  did 
not  increase  during  the  latter  years,  it  was  attributable 
to  circumstances  over  which  he  had  no  control. 

About  the  time  that  his  connection  with  his  congre 
gation  closed,  Dr.  James.  W.  Alexander  was  just  retir 
ing  from  the  editorship  of  the  Presbyterian.  That 
paper  then  came  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Engles ;  and 
though,  at  different  periods,  he  shared  the  labor  and 
responsibility  with  several  other  individuals,  his  con 
nection  with  it  as  editor  continued  through  the  long 
period  of  thirty -three  years.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Grier,  who 
was  associate  editor  with  him  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
has  rendered  the  highest  testimony  to  the  good  taste, 
and  good  judgment,  and  good  spirit,  with  which  he 
prosecuted  his  work. 

In  May,  1838,  he  was  appointed  Editor  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Board  of  Publication,  and  he  held  that  impor 
tant  position,  discharging  its  duties  with  great  fidelity, 
twenty-five  years.  In  1840,  he  was  chosen  Moderator 
of  the  General  Assembly,  and  the  same  year  was  ap 
pointed  Stated  Clerk.  The  latter  office  he  held  until 
1846. 

Dr.  Engles  (for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was 
conferred  upon  him  in  1838)  had,  for  a  considerable 
time,  been  subject  to  occasional  turns  of  illness,  which 
medical  skill  could  not  avert,  and  which  proved  to  be 
an  obscure  affection  of  the  heart.  The  last  attack  was 
accompanied  with  congestion  of  the  lungs,  which  left 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  163 

little  doubt  of  a  fatal  issue.  While  he  was  willing  to 
submit  to  whatever  medical  treatment  might  be  thought 
best,  he  had  the  fullest  conviction  that  his  hour  had 
nearly  come ;  but  he  was  perfectly  tranquil  and  submis 
sive  in  the  prospect,  not  doubting  that  it  would  be  gain 
for  him  to  depart.  He  died  on  the  27th  of  November, 
1867,  when  he  had  just  completed  his  seventieth  year. 

He  was  married,  in  1836,  to  Charlotte  Schott,  daugh 
ter  of  James  Schott,  of  Philadelphia,  who  survives  him. 
They  had  no  children. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  record  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,  in  reference  to  his 
death :  — 

"  The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  is  probably  more  largely 
indebted  to  Dr.  Engles,  than  to  any  other  man,  for  its  existence  and 
its  early  influence.  He  was  one  of  the  first  half-dozen  men  who 
clearly  perceived  the  necessity  for  such  an  institution,  and  who  met 
to  take  counsel  together  in  reference  to  its  formation.  In  all  the  in 
cipient  measures  which  led  to  its  organization,  and  afterwards  to  its 
adoption  and  reorganization  by  the  General  Assembly,  he  took  a  pro 
minent  part.  He  was  appointed,  at  the  very  beginning,  a  member 
of  its  Executive  Committee,  and  continued  to  serve  uninterruptedly 
in  that  capacity,  until  June,  18G3.  He  was  likewise  appointed  the 
first  editor  of  the  Board's  publications,  and  every  one  of  them  passed 
under  his  eye  and  hand  until  the  same  date.  In  the  following  year, 
after  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Phillips,  of  New  York,  President  of 
the  Board,  Dr.  Engles  was  selected  to  fill  the  vacant  chair.  This  he 
continued  to  do  with  dignity,  and  Christian  courtesy,  and  warm 
regard  to  the  Board's  interests,  till  his  removal  by  death. 

"  His  usefulness  in  connection  with  this  Board,  the  Church  can 
never  fully  appreciate.  His  sound  judgment  rarely  allowed  him  to 
fall  into  a  mistake.  His  extensive  reading,  and  his  thorough  and 
discriminating  orthodoxy,  placed  upon  the  Board's  catalogue  a  large 
variety  of  the  most  approved  Calvinistic  books,  both  of  our  own 


164  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

country  and  of  Great  Britain,  yet  kept  its  list,  to  a  remarkable  de 
gree,  free  from  all  admixture  of  error.  A  large  number  of  old  and 
valuable  works,  which  had  become  nearly  extinct  because  of  their 
cumbrous  style,  were  revised  and  abridged  by  him,  and  have  had  an 
extensive  circulation  and  usefulness  in  every  part  of  the  land.  He 
was  also  himself  the  author  of  a  large  number  of  valuable  books  and 
tracts,  nearly  all  of  which  were  published  anonymously.  Among 
them  /Sick  JRoom  Devotions  has  carried  light  and  comfort  to  thou 
sands  of  chambers  of  sickness.  His  little  work,  The  Soldier's  Pocket- 
Hook,  of  which  nearly  three  hundred  thousand,  in  English  and  Ger 
man,  were  circulated  among  our  soldiers  during  the  war,  achieved  an 
untold  and  unspeakable  amount  of  good." 

Dr.  Engles  enjoyed,  in  a  high  degree,  the  confidence 
and  regard  of  every  community  in  which  he  lived.  He 
had  a  well-built,  symmetrical  frame,  and  a  face  indicative 
of  thoughtfulness  and  dignity,  rather  than  anything 
brilliant  or  startling.  He  was  not  impulsive  but  cau 
tious  and  discreet,  and  rarely  took  a  step  or  suggested 
a  measure  which  the  circumstances  did  not  justify.  In 
the  pulpit,  he  was  simple  and  natural  and  edifying  in 
all  his  deliverances.  On  questions  of  church  polity,  he 
manifested  great  wisdom ;  and  while  he  was  earnest  for 
what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth,  he  was  far  from  in 
dulging  a  censorious  spirit.  Everywhere  he  showed 
himself  under  the  influence  of  a  living  piety,  and  all 
who  saw  him  took  knowledge  of  him  that  he  had  been 
with  Jesus. 

JOHN  N.  CAMPBELL,  D.D. 

JOHN  N.  CAMPBELL  was  born,  of  highly  respectable 
parentage,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1798.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Robert  Ait- 
ken,  was  the  publisher  of  the  first  edition  of  the 


BIOGEAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  165 

Bible  in  this  country.  He  was  baptized  by  the  Rev. 
Robert  Annan,  minister  of  the  old  Scott's  Presby 
terian  Church,  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  connection 
with  that  church  he  had  his  early  training.  He  was 
for  some  time  a  pupil  of  that  celebrated  teacher, 
James  Ross,  and  afterwards  became  a  member  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  though  his  name  does  not 
appear  on  the  catalogue  of  graduates.  After  studying 
Theology,  for  some  time,  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev. 
Ezra  Stiles  Ely,  he  went  to  Virginia,  where  he  continued 
his  theological  studies,  and  became  connected,  as  teacher 
of  languages,  with  Hampden  Sydney  College.  He  was 
licensed  to  preach,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover,  in 
May,  1817,  when  he  was  about  nineteen  years  of  age. 

The  first  two  or  three  years  after  he  entered  the 
ministry  were  spent  chiefly  in  Virginia ;  but  in  the  au 
tumn  of  1820  he  was  chosen  chaplain  to  Congress;  and, 
notwithstanding  he  was  very  young  to  occupy  such  a 
place,  his  services  proved  highly  acceptable.  He  after 
wards  returned  to  Virginia,  and  preached  for  some 
time  in  Petersburg ;  and  also  went  into  North  Carolina, 
and  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the  First  Presby 
terian  Church  in  Newbern.  In  1823,  he  went  again  to 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and,  for  more  than  a  year, 
was  an  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Balch,  of  Georgetown. 
In  1824  or  25,  he  took  charge  of  the  New  York  Avenue 
Church,  in  Washington  City,  where  his  great  popular 
ity  quickly  filled  the  house.  In  January,  1825,  he  was 
elected  one  of  the  managers  of  the  American  Coloniza 
tion  Society,  and  for  six  years  discharged  the  duties  of 
the  place  with  great  ability  and  fidelity.  During  his 
residence  in  Washington,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 


166  PRESBYTERIAN    RETENTION. 

many  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  day,  among 
whom  was  the  illustrious  William  Wirt,  with  whom, 
for  some  time,  he  kept  up  a  correspondence.  It  was 
here  that  the  late  Ambrose  Spencer,  Chief -Justice  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  first  heard  him,  and  so  favorably 
was  he  impressed  by  him,  both  as  a  preacher  and  a  man, 
that  he  recommended  him  as  a  suitable  person  to  take 
the  pastoral  charge  of  the  First  Presbyterian  congrega 
tion  in  Albany,  with  which  he  was  connected.  He  was 
accordingly  invited  to  preach  there  as  a  candidate,  and 
shortly  after  accepted  an  invitation  to  become  their 
Pastor,  and  was  actually  installed  in  September,  1831. 
The  services  were  rendered  especially  interesting  by  the 
fact  that  the  venerable  Dr.  Nott,  one  of  the  former 
pastors  of  that  church,  took  part  in  them. 

In  1835,  he  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity,  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  In  1836, 
he  was  appointed  a  Director  of  the  Theological  Semin 
ary  at  Princeton,  and  held  the  office  till  the  close  of 
life.  He  very  rarely  attended  the  meetings  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly,  but  he  was  a  member  in  1856,  was 
nominated  for  the  office  of  Moderator,  and  came  very 
near  being  chosen.  He  occupied  his  own  pulpit  with  a 
degree  of  constancy  rarely  equalled,  being  scarcely  ever 
absent  from  it,  except  during  a  few  weeks  in  the  sum 
mer,  which  he  spent,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  at 
Lake  George.  His  large  executive  ability  devolved 
upon  him  many  duties  outside  of  his  immediate  profes 
sion.  He  was,  for  many  years,  one  of  the  Regents  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York,  an  office  which 
he  readily  accepted,  on  account  of  its  intimate  connec 
tion  with  educational  interests.  He  was  one  of  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  1C  7 

busiest  of  men,  and  yet  his  habits  were  eminently  social, 
and  he  could  always  command  time  to  devote  to  his 
friends. 

Dr.  Campbell's  habit  of  great  activity  continued  till 
near  the  close  of  life.  He  preached  with  his  usual  ani 
mation  and  interest  on  the  Sabbath  immediately  pre 
ceding  his  death,  and  there  was  nothing  to  betoken  the 

o  /  o 

approach  of  any  serious  malady.  On  Monday,  he  was 
walking  the  streets  with  his  accustomed  vigor,  but,  be 
fore  the  close  of  the  day,  the  disease  of  which  he  died 
began  to  develop  itself.  It  did  not,  however,  take  on 
an  alarming  form  for  two  or  three  days;  but,  in  the 
course  of  the  week,  it  became  doubtful  whether  it  was 
not  beyond  the  control  of  medical  skill.  On  Sunday 
morning,  just  as  his  congregation  were  assembling  for 
public  worship,  and  for  the  celebration  of  the  ordinance 
of  the  Supper,  the  startling  intelligence  went  forth  that 
their  Pastor  was  no  longer  among  the  living.  The 
whole  community  were  well-nigh  paralyzed,  as  the 
tidings  circulated  among  them.  He  died  on  the  27th 
of  March,  1864. 

Dr.  Campbell  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
Miss  Bowling,  of  Petersburg,  Va. ;  his  second,  who  is 
still  living,  was  Miss  Elizabeth  Tilden  Wilson,  of  Mary 
land. 

Dr.  Campbell  was  somewhat  above  the  ordinary 
height,  of  a  slender  frame,  a  pallid  face,  and  a  general 
appearance  not  indicating  robust  health.  His  counte 
nance  and  whole  manner,  however,  indicated  what  he 
actually  possessed,  — :  great  energy  of  mind  and  decision 
of  character.  He  was  genial,  and  often  jovial,  in  his 
intercourse,  and  was  almost  sure  to  be  a  commanding 


168  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

spirit  in  any  social  circle  into  which  he  was  thrown. 
He  had  mingled  much  with  the  world,  and,  with  his 
uncommon  natural  shrewdness,  was  an  adept  in  the 
knowledge  of  human  nature.  He  saw  both  clearly  and 
quickly ;  and  when  his  mind  was  once  made  up  on  any 
subject,  though  he  could  still  consider  and  appreciate 
adverse  evidence,  he  was  not  very  likely  to  yield  his 
first  conviction.  As  a  Preacher,  he  was  clear,  evangeli 
cal,  and  animated.  His  sermons  were  carefully  prepared, 
and  written  in  a  character  that  was  scarcely  legible  to 
any  one  but  himself;  and  then  they  were  delivered 
with  a  graceful  ease  and  freedom,  which  made  them 
appear  to  those  who  listened,  as  if  they  were  the  pro 
ductions  of  the  moment.  They  were  withal  very  brief, 
and  logical,  and  easy  to  be  remembered.  He  had  but 
little  to  do  with  controversy  in  the  pulpit,  though  if 
there  were  any  errors,  that  seemed  to  him  especially 
palpable,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  expose  them.  There 
was  an  air  of  lofty  independence  pervading  all  his 
movements.  It  may  safely  be  said  that  he  feared  not 
the  face  of  man ;  and  his  plans  were  generally  success 
ful,  even  where  they  had  to  encounter  the  most  intense 
opposition.  Even  those  who  differed  from  him  still 
applauded  his  honesty. 

GEORGE  POTTS,  D.D. 

GEORGE  POTTS  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  George  Charles 
Potts,  who  emigrated  from  Ireland  to  this  country 
about  the  beginning  of  this  century,  arid  of  Mary  En- 
gles,  his  wife,  and  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  the  place 
of  his  father's  settlement,  on  the  15th  of  March,  1802. 
He  studied  for  a  while,  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Gray, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  169 

and  then  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  B.  Wylie,  after 
which  he  was  transferred  to  the  Grammar  School  of 
the  University.  He  entered  the  University  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  one  year  in  advance,  and  graduated  in  1819 ; 
the  third  in  his  class,  —  Robert  J.  Walker,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  Attorney-General, 
being  the  only  persons  occupying  a  higher  place.  After 
his  graduation,  he  spent  a  year  in  general  studies,  pre 
paratory  to  entering  the  Theological  Seminary.  He 
joined  the  Seminary  at  Princeton,  in  1820;  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia, 
at  Doylestown,  in  1822;  and  left  the  Seminary  at 
the  close  of  the  regular  course,  in  1823.  He  went  im 
mediately  to  Natchez,  on  the  invitation  of  the  Presby 
terian  congregation  there,  and,  after  preaching  six 
weeks,  received  a  call  to  become  their  Pastor.  He  ac 
cepted  the  call,  and  returned  to  Philadelphia  for  ordi 
nation,  which  took  place  in  his  father's  church,  on  the 
9th  of  September,  1823.  Immediately  after  his  return 
to  Natchez,  he  was  installed  Pastor  of  that  church,  and 
continued  there  twelve  years,  the  utmost  harmony 
existing  between  him  and  his  people  during  the  whole 
time.  The  climate,  however,  by  this  time,  exerted  such 
an  enervating  influence  upon  him  that  he  found  it  neces 
sary  to  seek  a  northern  home.  Accordingly,  he  resigned 
his  charge,  and  shortly  after  received  an  invitation  to 
become  Pastor  of  the  Duane  Street  Church,  New  York. 
This  call  he  did  not  at  first  accept,  on  the  ground  that 
he  was  unwilling  actually  to  leave  his  people  until  there 
was  a  fair  prospect  that  the  vacancy  would  be  speedily 
supplied.  The  call  was  subsequently  repeated,  and  he- 
accepted  it,  on  condition  that  he  should  remain  with 


170  PEESBYTEEIAlSr    REUJSTIOISr. 

Ms  former  charge  till  the  opening  of  spring.  His  in 
stallation  at  New  York  took  place  in  May,  1836. 

Some  time  after  his  settlement  in  New  York,  he  be 
came  affected  with  the  bronchitis,  and  in  1838,  visited 
Europe  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  The  same  year, 
he  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity, 
from  the  University  of  New  York. 

In   1845,  he  resigned  the  charge  of  the  church  in 

/  O  O 

Duane  Street,  and  on  the  25th  of  November  was  in 
stalled  Pastor  of  a  newly  gathered  church  in  Univer 
sity  Place.  He  continued  in  this  connection  till  the 
close  of  life. 

Dr.  Potts,  during  the  greater  part  of  his  ministry, 
enjoyed  vigorous  health.  Within  a  few  months  of  the 
close,  some  of  his  faculties  perceptibly  declined,  and  he 
was  at  length  induced  to  separate  himself  from  his  field 
of  labor,  in  the  hope  that  perfect  rest  might  effect  the 
desired  renovation.  In  parting  with  his  people,  uncer 
tain,  of  course,  whether  he  should  meet  them  again,  he 
addressed  to  them  a  letter,  in  which  were  condensed 
what  proved  to  be  his  last  counsels  and  admonitions,— 
a  letter  that  testifies,  in  the  strongest  manner,  of  his 
tenderness  and  fidelity.  After  having  been  absent  for 
some  time,  he  returned  to  his  family,  but  returned  only 
to  die.  He  lingered  for  a  brief  period,  and  then  passed 
away,  amidst  floods  of  sorrow,  but  in*  the  joyful  hope 
of  entering*  into  rest.  He  died  on  the  15th  of  Septem 
ber,  1864,  and,  at  his  funeral,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Krebs,  his 
neighbor  and  friend,  delivered  an  impressive  address, 

Dr.  Potts  was  married,  in  April,  1824,  to  Mary 
Postlethwaite,  of  Natchez,  thereby  securing  to  himself 
the  highest  domestic  enjoyment.  They  became  the 


BIOGEAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  171 

parents  of  nine  children,  only  four  of  whom  survive. 
One  of  the  sons,  the  Rev.  Arthur  Potts,  is  Pastor  of  a 
Presbyterian  church  in  Morrisania,  N.Y. 

Dr.  Potts  was  a  Director  of  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Princeton,  and  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  New 
York  University.  He  never  aspired  to  anything  in  the 
way  of  authorship,  having  published  only  a  few  occa 
sional  Sermons  and  Addresses. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Dr.  Potts  was  eminently 
imposing.  Of  commanding  stature,  being  not  less  than 
six  feet  and  two  or  three  inches  in  height,  and  every 
way  well  proportioned ;  with  a  countenance  expressive 
of  high  intelligence ;  elastic  and  yet  dignified  in  his 
movements;  his  first  appearance  could  hardly  fail  to 
suggest  the  idea  of  superiority.  And  that  impression 
was  fully  justified  by  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
him.  He  had  an  uncommonly  genial  temperament,  and 
without  any  attempt  to  put  himself  forward,  he  was 
very  likely  to  be  recognized  as  the  commanding  spirit 
in  any  social  circle.  His  intellect,  naturally  of  a  high 
order,  had  been  subjected  to  the  most  careful  culture 
and  discipline,  and  there  was  scarcely  any  subject  of 
general  interest  with  which  he  had  not  made  himself 
familiar.  As  a  Preacher,  he  was  undoubtedly  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  attractive  of  his  day.  His  voice  was 
full  and  clear;  his  utterance  distinct  and  impressive; 
his  gestures  simple  and  graceful,  and  the  manifest 
promptings  of  nature ;  and  his  whole  manner  such  as 
was  best  fitted  to  give  effect  to  the  momentous  truths 
he  proclaimed.  There  was  in  his  preaching  a  happy 
admixture  of  the  doctrinal  and  the  practical ;  he  never 
felt  that  he  had  done  with  any  truth  that  he  presented, 


172  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

until  lie  had  not  only  shown  its  intellectual  bearing,  but 
had  brought  it  in  contact  with  the  conscience  and  the 
heart.  Though  his  sermons  were  generally  written,  he 
accustomed  himself,  especially  during  his  latter  years, 
to  extemporaneous  speaking ;  and  he  has  been  heard  to 
say  that  he  had  more  freedom  and  comfort  in  this  mode 
of  preaching  than  any  other.  The  interests  of  his  con 
gregation  seemed  always  uppermost  in  his  thoughts; 
his  pastoral  visits  were  a  source  of  mutual  enjoyment  to 
him  and  his  people ;  and  those  who  were  in  the  morning 
of  life  especially  shared  most  largely  in  his  watchful 
regards.  Though  his  tastes  were  rather  for  a  life  of 
quietude  than  bustle,  he  was  by  no  means  destitute  of 
executive  ability,  nor  did  he  shrink  from  taking  his 
share  in  guiding  and  moulding  the  destinies  of  the 
Church.  In  every  relation  he  sustained,  his  pure  and 
noble  spirit  was  impressively  exemplified. 

NICHOLAS  MURRAY,  D.D. 

NICHOLAS  MURRAY,  a  son  of  Nicholas  and  Judith 
(Mangum)  Murray,  was  born  in  the  county  of  "West- 
meath,  Ireland,  on  the  25th  of  December,  1802.  His 
father  was  a  man  of  considerable  influence  in  his  neigh 
borhood,  but  he  died  while  this  son  was  in  early  child 
hood.  Both  his  parents  were  in  the  communion  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  After  having  been  sent  to 
school  three  years,  —  from  the  age  of  nine  till  the  age 
of  twelve,  —  he  was  apprenticed  as  a  merchant's  clerk, 
near  Edgeworthstown ;  but,  on  account  of  the  unkind 
treatment  he  received  there,  he  ran  away  and  returned 
home.  Though  his  mother  earnestly  advised  him  to 
return  to  the  place  he  had  vacated,  he  persisted  in  re- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  173 

fusing  to  do  so,  saying  that  lie  purposed  going  abroad 
into  the  world  to  seek  his  own  fortune. 

Accordingly,  in  1818,  he  took  leave  of  his  native  coun 
try,  and  sailed  for  New  York,  where,  on  his  arrival, 
he  found  himself  in  a  land  of  strangers  and  almost  pen 
niless.  After  looking  about  a  short  time  for  employ 
ment,  he  engaged  himself  as  a  proof-reader,  or  for  any 
other  service  of  which  he  was  capable,  to  those  well- 
known  publishers,  the  Harpers.  Up  to  this  time  his 
faith  in  the  religious  system  to  which  he  had  been 
trained  had  not  even  begun  to  falter ;  and  when,  through 
the  influence  of  one  of  his  associates,  who  afterwards 
became  a  Methodist  minister,  he  was  induced  to  read 
the  New  Testament,  and,  as  a  consequence,  renounced 
his  faith  in  Romanism,  he  rejected  Christianity  alto 
gether  and  became  an  avowed  infidel.  At  the  sugges 
tion  of  some  young  men,  students  in  Dr.  Mason's  Semi 
nary,  with  whom  he  became  acquainted,  he  went  to  hear 
Dr.  Mason  preach ;  and  so  deeply  was  he  impressed  by 
the  sermon,  that  he  went  home  to  read  his  Bible  with  a 
view  to  entering  on  a  new  life.  Feeling  the  need  of 
some  one  to  counsel  him,  he  was  introduced  to  Dr. 
Spring,  who  cheerfully  became  his  spiritual  adviser, 
and,  after  about  a  year  and  a  half,  admitted  him  to  the 
communion  of  his  church. 

Mr.  Murray,  as  he  had  the  opportunity  of  exhibiting 
his  talents  and  virtues,  began  to  attract  the  attention  of 
some  benevolent  individuals,  who  very  soon  proposed 
to  him,  to  lay  aside  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
and,  at  their  expense,  to  begin  his  preparation  for  the 
Christian  ministry.  After  considering  the  generous 
proposal  for  some  little  time,  he  determined  to  accept 


174  PEESBYTEEIAN    KE  UNION. 

it ;  and  lie  did  accept  it,  and  entered  upon  his  studies, 
without,  however,  altogether  relinquishing  at  once  his 
previous  occupation.  In  the  fall  of  1821  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Amherst  Academy,  where  he  completed 
his  preparation  for  college.  He  entered  Williams  Col 
lege  in  1822,  and  graduated  in  1826,  being  the  whole 
time  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Griffin,  who  continued 
through  life  his  fast  friend,  and  whose  character  was 
the  object  of  his  intense  admiration. 

After  leaving  college,  he  was  very  successfully  em 
ployed,  for  a  short  time,  as  agent  of  the  American  Tract 
Society,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  then  became  a  member  of  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Princeton.  At  the  close  of  a  year,  in  consequence  of 
pecuniary  embarrassment,  he  resumed  his  agency  under 
the  Tract  Society,  making  Philadelphia  the  scene  of  his 
labors.  Here  he  established  a  Branch  Tract  Society, 
and  acted  as  its  secretary  for  eighteen  months;  and 
then  he  resumed  his  place  in  the  Seminary,  having  kept 
along  with  the  studies  of  his  class  during  the  whole 
period  of  his  absence.  The  compensation  which  he  re 
ceived  for  his  labors  enabled  him  to  complete  his  theo 
logical  course  without  further  embarrassment. 

Mr.  Murray  was  licensed  to  preach,  by  the  Presby 
tery  of  Philadelphia,  in  April,  1828.  After  preaching 
a  short  time  with  great  acceptance  in  Morristown,  he 
engaged  as  a  Domestic  Missionary,  and,  at  the  sugges 
tion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Engles,  of  Philadelphia,  went  to 
Wilkesbarre,  where  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  with 
out  a  pastor.  Here  he  preached  for  a  short  time  as  a 
candidate,  and  then  received  a  call,  which  he  accepted. 
He  was  ordained  and  installed  in  November,  1829. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  175 

In  the  autumn  of  1832,  he  attended  the  meeting  of 
the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  at  Morristown,  and,  by  ap 
pointment,  preached  a  sermon  on  Domestic  Missions. 
His  congregation  at  Wilkesbarre  were  then  engaged  in 
building  a  church ;  and  he  asked  Dr.  McDowell,  of 
Elizabethtown,  if  his  people  would  not  listen  to  an  ap 
plication  to  assist  them  in  the  enterprise.  Dr.  McDowell 
replied,  that  if  he  would  come  to  Elizabethtown,  and 
repeat  the  sermon  that  he  had  preached  before  the  Sy 
nod,  he  doubted  not  that  something  might  be  done. 
Mr.  Murray,  accordingly,  went  and  preached,  and  ob 
tained  a  liberal  contribution  to  his  object.  When  that 
congregation  became  vacant,  by  the  removal  of  Dr.  Mc 
Dowell  to  Philadelphia,  the  next  year,  Mr.  Murray  re 
ceived  a  unanimous  call  to  become  his  successor.  He 
accepted  the  call,  and  was  installed  in  July,  1833.  He 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  from  the 
college  at  which  he  graduated,  in  1843. 

Dr.  Murray's  noble  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  ren 
dered  him  an  object  of  attraction  to  several  of  the  most 
prominent  churches  in  the  land.  He  had  calls,  at  dif 
ferent  times,  from  Boston,  Brooklyn,  Charleston,  S.  C., 
Natchez,  St.  Louis,  and  Cincinnati ;  but  he  preferred  to 
occupy  the  field  in  which  Providence  had  already  placed 
him.  He  was  appointed  to  a  Professorship  in  two  The 
ological  Seminaries,  but  in  both  instances  declined  the 
appointment.  In  1849,  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  conferred  upon  him  one  of  its 
highest  honors,  by  choosing  him  its  Moderator. 

Twice  in  his  latter  years  Dr.  Murray  crossed  the 
ocean,  and  travelled  extensively,  not  only  in  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  but  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 


176  PEESBYTERIAlSr    KEtHSTIOlS'. 

These  visits  brought  him  in  contact  with  many  of  the 
most  illustrious  minds  of  the  day.  The  high  reputation 
that  had  preceded  him  secured  to  him  a  cordial  wel 
come,  and  his  fine  powers,  and  genial  manner,  and 
earnest  piety,  to  say  nothing  of  his  remarkable  history, 
fully  justified  the  best  things  that  had  been  said  of 
him.  It  may  safely  be  said  that  few  American  clergy 
men  have  found  more  ready  access  to  the  best  European 
society,  or  have  left  behind  them  a  more  honored  name 
than  did  Dr.  Murray. 

When  he  had  nearly  reached  his  threescore  years, 
his  vigor  had  not  begun  perceptibly  to  wane,  and  there 
was  nothing  visible  to  indicate  that  he  was  not  destined 
to  many  years  more  of  active  usefulness.  But,  notwith 
standing  these  hopeful  appearances,  the  time  of  his  de 
parture  was  at  hand.  Accustomed  to  pay  an  annual 
visit  to  a  friend  in  Albany,  he  had  actually  made  his 
preparations  for  the  journey,  when  he  was  seized  with 
the  malady  which,  in  a  few  days,  changed  him  into  a 
corpse.  In  the  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  he  uttered 
words  of  counsel  and  comfort  to  those  around  him,  and 
passed  away  in  the  joyful  hope  of  being  admitted  to 
the  communion  of  the  ransomed  in  Heaven.  He  died 
on  the  llth  of  February,  1861. 

Dr.  Murray  was  married,  in  the  year  1830,  to 
Eliza  J.,  daughter  of  the  Kev.  Morgan  Reese,  a  distin 
guished  Baptist  clergyman,  who  emigrated  from  Wales, 
and  settled  in  Philadelphia.  They  became  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  only  four  of  whom  now  survive.  The 
two  sons  have  been  graduated  at  Williams  College,  one 
of  whom  is  a  lawyer,  the  other  in  a  course  of  prepara 
tion  for  the  ministry. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  177 

Dr.  Murray's  character,  intellectual,  moral,  religious, 
was  well  formed  and  eminently  attractive.  His  mind 
was  comprehensive  and  logical,  and  always  reached  its 
conclusions  by  a  luminous  process.  He  had  the  common 
birthright  of  his  countrymen, —  an  exuberance  of  wit, 
which  he  dealt  out  in  the  form  of  mirthful  pleasantry, 
or  cutting  sarcasm,  as  occasion  required.  His  heart 
was  the  natural  dwelling-place  of  generous  purposes  and 
kindly  feelings,  and  perfect  sincerity  breathed  in  all  his 
utterances.  His  presence  was  always  an  element  of  pleas 
ure  in  the  social  circle ;  for  he  could  accommodate  him 
self  with  great  facility  to  every  variety  of  intellect  and 
every  shade  of  character.  As  a  Christian,  he  was  thor 
oughly  grounded  in  the  truth,  stood  firm  to  his  convic 
tions  of  right,  and  was  always  ready  to  improve  every 
opportunity  of  doing  good ;  and  if,  sometimes,  his  natu 
ral  proclivity  to  good-humor  may  have  seemed  to  some 
excessive,  his  daily  life  proved  that  it  was  consistent 
with  an  earnest  and  elevated  piety.  As  a  Preacher, 
he  held  a  high  rank  .among  the  lights  of  the  American 
pulpit.  While  his  sermons  were  of  a  deeply  evangelical 
tone,  they  were  so  clear  and  forcible,  and  well  adapted, 
that  they  never  failed  to  command  attention  and  awaken 
interest.  His  fine  executive  talent  gave  him  great  in 
fluence  in  church  courts,  and  in  ecclesiastical  matters 
generally,  while  it  rendered  him  a  competent  guide  and 
an  efiicient  agent  in  adjusting  the  private  affairs  of 
some  of  his  parishioners.  In  his  own  family  he  was  a 
model  of  all  that  was  generous  and  attractive ;  he  was 
dignified  and  yet  full  of  love  and  of  life.  With  the 
members  of  his  congregation  he  was  on  terms  of  great 

familiarity,  while  yet  he  was  the  faithful  and  devoted 
12 


178  PRESBYTERIAN    REUOTON. 

pastor,  always  ready  to  move  about  among  them,  when 
he  could  carry  blessings  in  his  train.  But  perhaps  the 
very  crown  of  his  usefulness  was  his  authorship.  Besides 
several  sermons  and  addresses  of  great  excellence,  printed 
in  pamphlet  form,  he  published  Letters  to  Bishop  Hughes, 
under  the  signature  of  Kirwan ;  Notes,  Historical  and 
Biographical,  concerning  Elizabethtown,  N.  J. ;  Roman 
ism  at  Home ;  Men  and  Things,  as  I  saw  them  in 
Europe ;  Parish  and  other  Pencillings ;  and  The  Hap 
py  Home.  Of  these,  the  volume  containing  Let 
ters  to  Bishop  Hughes  has  had  the  widest  circulation, 
having  not  only  passed  through  many  editions  in  this 
country  and  Great  Britain,  but  having  been  translated 
also  into  several  foreign  languages.  It  is  written  with 
great  power  and  consummate  skill ;  and  it  will  always 
remain,  not  only  as  a  grand  testimony  in  favor  of  truth 
and  rio-ht,  but  as  an  evidence  that  its  author  had  one  of 

O         ' 

the  brightest  minds  as  well  as  the  most  remarkable  ex 

O 

periences  of  his  day. 

JOHN  M.  KREBS,    D.D. 

JOHN  MICHAEL  KREBS,  a  son  of  William  and  Ann 
(Adamson)  Krebs,  was  born  at  Hagerstown,  Md.,  on 
the  6th  of  May,  1804.  His  father  was  of  German,  his 
mother  of  English,  extraction  ;  and  both  were  of  highly 
respectable  families.  When  he  was  about  fourteen  or 
fifteen  years  of  age,  having  previously  received  a  good 
common  education,  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  post-office, 
while  part  of  his  time  was  spent  in  his  father's  store. 
Though  he  was  fond  of  reading,  and  devoted  to  it  all  his 

O  O' 

intervals  of  leisure,  he  became  ultimately  so  identified 
with  the  post-office,  that  he  had  the  chief  direction  of  it ; 


hen 


.ruiphlet  form,  iu  iKjM*  4i«-<i  Lettei>  ;-        r         4:>'h<i> 
u^'ii-r  the  sigiuuujv  of  Kirwan ;  Notes,  ii; 
Bi.jgruphipii,  concerning- Elizabethtown,  N.  «: 
Isui    ai   Home;     Men  and  Things,   as- I  sa\v 
Em-ope;  l.'avisli  and  other  Pencilling^ ;  and  Tli< 
py    JLome.       Of    these,    the    volume    coiitainiiig  Lrt- 
lers  to  Bishop  Hughes  has  had  t        rldf-i   cii-cii!n1i.>n, 
having  "not  only  passed   thro**wh    : 


;   trutij 

He*  au  •      . 


J  >H>f  MICHAEL  &»> 
ilamson)  Kirl*.  was  .»u* 

May,  i»oT     His  fa 
ther  of  English,  extawwtis*  '  and  boii>  » 
families.     Wn.--    fe»i«*g  al« 
>  -f  ag^  p?" 

uitm  t**H,-i-ution,  he  lit^-aaiie  »  « 

while  psift  '•!'  IUM  tiufe  \vr<  ri'- 

Tli.mffb  he  wa>  f.-i-.d  of  IX-M  'rf*'»l  »:!  itall  his 

intervals*  of  leisure,  he   )•«•.  ^Hntatoiy     >  J •ientinefl 

-  >,wMti»tfice,  that  he  ha-- i  lK«  -'li*vf  direction  of  it; 


180  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

time,  by  the  appointment  of  Presbytery  in  that  neigh 
borhood,  he  went,  in  May  of  the  next  year,  to  the  Theo 
logical  Seminary  at  Princeton,  with  a  view  to  avail  him 
self  of  the  advantages  of  that  institution.  As  he  ar- 

O 

rived  at  Princeton  during  the  vacation  of  the  Seminary, 
he  determined  to  make  a  brief  visit  to  some  of  his  friends 
in  New  York,  and  the  result  of  that  visit  was,  that  he 
was  introduced  as  a  candidate  to  the  Rutgers  Street 

O 

Church  ;  and  though  he  returned  to  Princeton  for  a  short 
time,  he  afterwards  went  back  to  New  York,  and,  after 
preaching  for  the  Rutgers  Street  people  two  or  three 
months,  received  a  call  to  become  their  Pastor.  This 
call  he  accepted,  and,  in  November,  1830,  he  was  duly 
set  apart  to  the  pastoral  office. 

From  the  commencement  of  his  career  in  New  York, 
he  attracted  great  attention,  especially  for  his  remarka 
ble  executive  ability.  In  1837,  he  was  appointed  Per 
manent  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  held  the 
office  till  1845,  in  which  year  he  was  Moderator  of  that 
venerable  body.  He  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  Presby 
tery  and  Synod  of  New  York,  in  1841,  and  Director,  of 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  in  1842;  and 
was  appointed  President  of  the  Board  of  Directors  in 
1866.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis 
sions  from  its  organization  till  his  death.  He  received 

o 

the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Dickinson  Col 
lege,  in  1841.  He  published  several  occasional  sermons, 
which  show  great  facility  of  adaptation. 

Dr.  Krebs  had  a  good  constitution,  and  generally  en 
joyed  vigorous  health,  but  he  was  subject  to  turns  of 
nervous  prostration,  that,  in  several  instances,  occasioned 
a  serious  interruption  of  his  labors.  In  the  summer  of 


BIOGEAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  181 

1853,  and  again  in  the  summer  of  1865,  he  spent  several 
months  in  travelling  in  Europe,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health ;  and  in  both  cases,  the  desired  object  was,  in  a 
good  degree,  realized.  In  the  summer  of  1867,  he 
became  greatly  disordered  in  respect  to  both  his  bodily 
and  mental  faculties,  and,  after  a  lingering  process  of 
decay,  which  medical  skill  could  not  arrest,  he  passed 
on  to  mingle  in  higher  scenes.  He  died  on  the  30th  of 

O  O 

September,  1867,  and  at  his  funeral,  which  was  attended 
on  the  2d  of  October,  addresses  were  delivered  by  Drs. 
Spring,  and  R.  W.  Dickinson,  and  the  other  services 
conducted  by  several  prominent  clergymen  in  the  neigh 
borhood. 

Dr.  Krebs  was  married  in  1830,  to  Sarah  Harris, 
daughter  of  Andrew  and  Annie  Holmes,  of  Carlisle. 
Mrs.  Krebs  died  in  1837,  having  been  the  mother  of 
two  children,  both  of  whom  survived  her.  In  1839,  he 
was  married  to  Ellen  Dewitt,  daughter  of  John  Cham 
bers,  of  Newburgh,  who  also  became  the  mother  of 
several  children,  and  died  in  1863.  Both  of  his  wives 
were  persons  of  great  excellence,  and  contributed  much 
to  his  usefulness  and  happiness. 

Dr.  Krebs  was  a  short,  but  thick-set  man,  and  had 
great  quickness  and  energy  of  movement,  and  a  counte 
nance  expressive  at  once  of  vivacity  and  strength.  His 
intellect  was  much  above  the  common  order,  being  at 
once  rapid  in  its  movements,  and  clear  and  logical  in  its 
conclusions.  He  had  an  unusually  genial  and  versatile 
temperament,  and,  without  compromising  his  dignity, 
could  accommodate  himself  to  every  variety  of  character 
and  circumstances.  His  mind  was  of  an  eminently 
practical  turn,  and  could  never  be  at  rest  unless  it  were 


182  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

working  out  some  beneficial  results.  His  Christian 
character  was  marked  by  great  quietness,  earnestness, 
and  efficiency ;  and,  when  his  mind  was  not  clouded 
through  the  influence  of  bodily  disease,  by  great  cheer 
fulness  also.  His  sermons  on  the  Sabbath  were  gener 
ally  written,  and  were  full  of  evangelical  truth,  exhib 
ited  in  a  luminous  and  impressive  manner.  His  mode 
of  delivery  was  simple  and  natural,  and  sometimes  rose 
to  a  high  pitch  of  earnestness.  He  could  extemporize 
with  great  ease  and  fluency,  and  some  of  his  unpremed 
itated  utterances  are  believed  to  have  been'  among  his 
most  effective.  With  great  executive  ability,  directed 
and  sanctified  by  a  living  faith,  and  a  gracious  influence 
from  above,  he  was  a  most  active  and  useful  member  of 
all  ecclesiastical  bodies.  Indeed,  he  adorned  every  rela 
tion  he  sustained;  and  when  he  passed  away,  all  who 
had  known  him,  felt  that  he  entered  on  a  glorious  re 
ward. 

| 

CORTLANDT  VAN  RENSSELAER,  D.D. 

CORTLAISTDT  VAN  K.ENSSELAER  belonged  to  one  of  the 
most  ancient  and  honored  families  in  our  country.  His 
father  was  General  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  a  man  of 
immense  wealth,  and  great  personal  and  political  influ 
ence,  well  known  as  the  "  Patroon  "  of  Albany.  His 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  William  Patterson, 
Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  one  of  the  Associate  Jus 
tices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  Both 
parents  were  not  only  distinguished  in  the  walks  of 
philanthropy,  but  possessed,  in  other  respects,  a  marked 
Christian  character,  and  were  specially  careful  to  train 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  183 

up  their  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord. 

He  was  born  in  Albany,  on  the  25th  of  May,  1808. 
He  passed  his  early  years  at  home,  but  in  due  time  was 
fitted  for  college,  and  entered  at  Yale,  where  also  he  was 
graduated  in  1827.  For  three  years  after  his  graduation, 
he  was  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  Law,  and,  in  1830, 
was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
Before  the  close  of  that  year,  however,  the  great  purpose 
of  his  life  seems  to  have  been  changed,  and  he  resolved 
to  devote  himself  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  This 
was  in  consequence  of  his  having  experienced  a  silent 
but  thorough  change  of  character,  which  led  him  to  wish 
to  make  the  most  of  life,  as  an  opportunity  for  doing 
good,  and  as  a  preparation  for  Heaven.  Accordingly, 
in  1830,  he  became  a  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Princeton,  but,  after  remaining  there  two  years,  took 
his  dismission,  and  connected  himself  with  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary  in  Virginia ;  and  there  he  passed 
the  last  year  of  his  preparation  for  the  ministry. 

Mr.  Van  Eensselaer,  during  his  whole  theological 
course,  seems  to  have  been  deeply  impressed  especially  by 
the  moral  degradation  of  the  slaves  at  the  South ;  and 
no  sooner  had  he  left  the  Seminary,  than  his  efforts  for 
ameliorating  their  condition  began.  He  accepted  an  in 
vitation  from  a  distinguished  Virginia  planter,  General 
Cocke,  at  that  time  well  known  in  the  walks  of  Christian 
benevolence,  to  live  in  his  family,  and  labor  among  the 
occupants  of  his  plantation.  Here,  and  especially  through 
the  influence  of  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer,  was  built  one  of  the 
first,  if  not  the  very  first,  of  the  chapels  in  Virginia  for  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  colored  population.  In  this 


184  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

self -denying  work  of  endeavoring  to  instruct  and  elevate 
these  poor  people,  he  continued  vigorously  engaged  until 
the  fall  of  1835,  when  certain  changes  in  the  political  state 
of  things  not  only  made  his  position  an  uncomfortable  one, 
but  revealed  to  him  the  necessity  of  seeking  another 
field  of  labor.  Accordingly,  in  a  letter  to  the  West 
Hanover  Presbytery,  by  which  he  had  been  ordained, 
he  asked  for  his  dismission,  stating  what  he  had  regarded 
the  sources  of  encouragement  in  his  labors,  and  what  he 
then  regarded  as  the  death  of  all  his  hopes  of  usefulness 
in  that  field. 

Mr.  Van  Rensselaer,  on  leaving  Virginia,  came  north 
ward,  and  in  1837  was  instrumental  of  establishing 
a  church  in  Burlington,  N.J.,  and  was  installed  as  its 

O  '  ' 

Pastor  on  the  29th  of  June.  He  resigned  his  charge 
in  May,  1840,  but  always  retained  for  the  church  a 
warm  affection,  and  was  ready  to  do  his  utmost  for  the 
promotion  of  its  interests.  For  two  or  three  of  the  fol 
lowing  years,  he  lived  chiefly  in  Washington  City, 
where  he  supplied  the  pulpit  of  a  feeble  church.  In 
1843,  he  was  invited,  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  to  undertake  an 
agency  for  increasing  its  funds.  He  accepted  the  ap 
pointment,  and  travelled  over  a  large  portion  of  the 
United  States,  and  collected  one  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars  ;  and  when  he  resigned  his  commission,  he  refused 
to  accept  any  compensation  for  his  services,  and  insisted 
even  on  paying  the  expenses  of  his  long  and  tedious 
journey. 

In  1845,  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer  received  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  from  the  University  of  New  York. 
Early  in  1846,  he  was  elected,  by  a  unanimous  vote  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  185 

the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Education,  their  Correspond 
ing  Secretary.  In  this  office  he  performed  what  may 
justly  be  considered  the  great  work  of  his  life.  He  en 
tered  upon  it  under  a  deep  sense  of  its  magnitude,  and  a 
corresponding  distrust  of  his  own  ability  for  the  success 
ful  performance  of  it,  but  at  the  same  time  with  a  reso 
lution  that  scarcely  knew  a  limit,  and  in  humble  depen 
dence  on  the  higher  influences  of  God's  grace.  And  in 
this  work  he  showed  that  he  was  willing  to  spend  and 
be  spent.  He  wrote  and  published  numerous  essays  and 
addresses,  designed  to  awaken  the  public  inind  to  the 
importance  of  a  thorough  Christian  training.  He  as 
sisted  many  a  poor  youth  of  promise  either  by  his  own 
generous  contributions,  or  through  the  kindness  of  others 
which  he  enlisted  in  their  behalf,  to  gain  the  requisite 
qualifications  for  the  Christian  ministry;  and  it  is 
believed  there  are  those  still  actively  and  faithfully  en 
gaged  as  the  ministers  of  Christ,  who,  but  for  his  influ 
ence,  would  never  have  been  invested  with  the  sacred 
office.  In  short,  his  ruling  passion  was  to  help  forward 
the  cause  of  Christ,  especially  in  connection  with  the 
great  object  to  which  he  was  devoted, —  the  increase 
and  the  improvement  of  the  Christian  ministry.  He 
had  many  testimonies  of  respect  and  good- will  from  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  one  of  which  was  his  being  chosen 
Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1857. 

The  illness  that  brought  Dr.  Van  Rensselaer  to  his 

O 

grave,  was  a  lingering  and  protracted  one.  For  many 
weeks  previous  to  his  death  his  case  was  regarded  hope 
less  ;  but  so  intent  was  he  on  doing  good,  that,  after  he 
became  too  feeble  to  use  his  pen,  lie  kept  on  writing 
by  another's  hand.  During  the  session  of  the  General 


186  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

Assembly  at  Rochester,  in  May,  1860,  the  announce 
ment  of  his  death  was  daily  expected ;  and,  as  a  testi 
mony  of  the  high  regard  which  that  venerable  body  bore 
for  his  exalted  worth,  they  all  (numbering  more  than 
three  hundred)  signed  their  names  to  a  letter,  expressive 
of  the  warmest  gratitude  for  his  distinguished  services. 
On  the  morning  of  his  death,  he  was  carried  out  upon 
the  veranda,  that  he  might  enjoy  the  fresh  air,  and  the 
beautiful  prospect  that  opened  around  him ;  and  while 
there,  the  cord  that  bound  him  to  life  was  broken.  He 
died  on  the  25th  of  July,  1860,  and  the  discourse  at  his 
funeral  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hodge,  of  Prince 
ton,  Doctors  Plumer,  Boardman,  and  Chester,  partici 
pating  in  the  services.  His  remains  were  taken  to 
Albany,  and  interred  in  the  family  vault. 

Dr.  Van  Rensselaer  was  married,  in  1836,  to  Catha 
rine,  daughter  of  Dr.  Mason  T.  Cogswell,  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  eminent  physi 
cians  in  that  state.  They  had  eight  children,  —  six  sons, 
and  two  daughters ;  five  of  whom,  with  their  mother, 
still  survive. 

Dr.  Van  Rensselaer  was  a  large,  strongly  built  man, 
and,  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  enjoyed  vigorous, 
uninterrupted  health.  His  face  would  lead  one  to  ex 
pect  a  clear,  practical,  well-ordered  mind,  rather  than 
one  of  extraordinary  brilliancy.  His  manners  were 
simple  and  unostentatious,  without  any  of  those  artifi 
cial  airs  which  are  too  often  associated  with  the  con 
sciousness  of  superior  rank.  His  mind  was  naturally 
clear,  comprehensive,  and  correct;  and  though  it  had 
been  subjected  to  careful  culture,  it  was  manifestly 
most  in  its  element  when  it  was  devising  or  carrying 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  187 

out  plans  of  doing  good.  His  heart  easily  warmed  with 
generous  affection,  and  his  ear  opened  spontaneously  to 
the  tale  of  want  or  sorrow.  His  religion  diffused  itself 
as  an  all-pervading  influence,  sanctifying  and  elevating 
his  whole  character.  In  his  family,  he  was  a  model  of 
gentleness  and  kindness,  but  never  lacking  in  domestic 
dignity  and  decision.  In  the  ordinary  intercourse  of 
life,  he  was  always  upon  the  lookout  for  opportunities 
of  doing  good,  and  either  by  a  word  in  season,  or  by 
some  timely  gift,  he  very  often  accomplished  his  object. 
In  the  pulpit,  he  could  not  be  said  to  be  eminently  at 
tractive  to  the  multitude,  but  his  sermons  were  always 
full  of  sound  evangelical  thought,  clearly  and  vigor 
ously  expressed,  and  pressed  upon  the  heart  and  con 
science  with  much  more  than  ordinary  power.  In  the 
various  more  public  relations  to  the  Church  which  he 
sustained,  especially  in  the  office  of  Secretary  and  Gene 
ral  Agent  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  generosity  of  his  heart,  in  connexion  with 

O  */ 

his  excellent  common-sense,  and  thoroughly  practical 
tendencies,  made  him  eminently  a  man  of  mark.  He 
lived  to  bless  his  generation,  and  through  them  his 
good  influence  will  extend  to  posterity ;  and,  as  long  as 
the  record  of  his  life  remains,  his  name  will  be  held  in 
cherished  remembrance. 

That  which,  more  than  any  thing  else,  gave  complexion 
to  Dr.  Van  Rensselaer's  character  and  life,  was  his  de- 
votedness  to  his  self-denying  work,  in  connection  with 
the  position  of  ease  and  worldly  independence  that 
seemed  to  come  to  him  as  his  birthright.  After  he  had 
graduated  at  college,  and  fitted  himself  to  enter  the  legal 
profession,  in  which,  doubtless,  he  might  have  become 


188  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

eminent,  lie  directed  Ms  thoughts  to  the  Christian  min 
istry;  and  from  that  time,  he  seemed  to  forget  eveiy 
thing  else  in  the  one  all-engrossing  object  of  doing  good. 
What  were  great  worldly  possessions,  including  all  the 
luxuries  of  life,  to  him  who  had  deliberately  consecrated 
every  thing  to  the  service  and  glory  of  his  Redeemer  ? 
He  began  his  professional  career  among  the  slaves  of 
Virginia,  and  he  closed  it  in  faithful  efforts,  and  gene 
rous  benefactions,  designed  to  elevate  the  character  of 
the  ministry  throughout  our  whole  Presbyterian  Church ; 
and  the  whole  interval  was  spent  in  intense  devotion  to 
his  work.  Let  every  scoffer  at  the  ministry  contem 
plate  this  noble  character,  and  be  confounded.  Let  every 
minister  of  the  Gospel  contemplate  it,  and  be  encour 
aged,  strengthened,  comforted. 

PHINEAS  D.    GURLEY,    D.D. 

PHINEAS  DENSMORE  GURLEY,  the  youngest  child  of 
Phineas  and  Elizabeth  (Fox)  Gurley,  was  born  at  Ham 
ilton,  Madison  County,  New  York,  on  the  12th  of 
November,  1816.  But  during  the  infancy  of  this  son, 
the  family  removed  to  Parishville,  St.  Lawrence  County. 
His  father  was  born  and  educated  a  Quaker,  though  his 
ancestry  were  Scotch  Covenanters ;  and  his  mother  was 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  though 
she  frequently  attended  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
in  all  her  intercourse  was  a  model  of  Christian  charity. 
He  received  the  rudiments  of  his  education  at  the  acad 
emy  in  Parishville.  As  a  child,  he  was  remarkably 
amiable  and  gentle  in  his  disposition,  and  was  especially 
distinguished  for  a  spirit  of  reverential  obedience  toward 
his  parents. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  189 

In  the  year  1831,  a  revival  of  religion,  of  great  inter 
est,  was  experienced  in  the  village  in  which  his  lot  was 
cast.  Under  a  sermon  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Can 
non,  of  Geneva,  he  became  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense 
of  his  own  sinfulness,  and,  after  a  season  of  intense 
agony,  found  rest,  as  he  believed,  in  a  cordial  acceptance 
of  Christ  as  his  Saviour.  Shortly  after  this,  he  united 
with  the  church  in  Parishville,  being  then  about  fifteen 
years  of  age. 

Immediately  after  this,  he  not  only  felt  a  desire,  but 
formed  a  purpose,  to  become  a  minister  of  the  Gospel ; 
and  his  father,  though  his  pecuniary  means  were  limited, 
finally  consented  that  he  should  receive  a  liberal  educa 
tion.  Accordingly,  after  having  been  engaged  in  his 
preparatory  course  about  a  year,  he  was  admitted  a 
member  of  Union  College,  in  1833,  before  he  was  six-1 
teen  years  of  age.  At  the  close  of  his  first  year  in  col 
lege,  he  was  summoned  home  to  see  his  mother  die  ;  but 
before  his  arrival,  she  had  departed,  leaving  it  as  her 
dying  message  to  him,  "  that  he  should  be  a  faithful 
minister  for  Jesus."  This  message  was  treasured  among 
his  most  cherished  remembrances  as  long  as  he  lived.  The 
scantiness  of  his  pecuniary  resources  obliged  him  to 
teach  a  school  at  intervals,  during  his  college  course ; 
but  notwithstanding  this,  he  maintained  a  high  position 
in  his  class,  and  graduated,  in  1837,  with  the  first 
honor. 

Shortly  after  his  graduation,  Mr.  Gurley  entered 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  where  also  he 
took  a  very  high  stand,  as  a  scholar,  a  gentleman,  and  a 
Christian.  During  the  vacation  of  1838,  he  performed 
missionary  labor  in  Sussex  County,  Del.,  and,  by  this 


190  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

means,  not  only  acquired  a  greater  facility  of  extempo 
raneous  speaking,  but  learned  many  important  lessons 
that  he  was  able  to  turn  to  good  account  in  his  subse 
quent  ministry.  In  April,  1840,  he  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  by  the  Presbytery  of  North  River, 
at  Cold  Spring,  New  York.  His  first  sermon,  which  was 
preached  in  Newburgh,  shortly  after  his  license,  made 
so  decidedly  favorable  an  impression,  that  it  brought 
him  an  immediate  call  to  become  Associate  Pastor  with 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Johnson,  who  was  then  far  advanced  in 
life. 

The  church  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  having  become  va 
cant  in  1839,  its  strength  was  much  reduced  by  the 
withdrawal  of  a  large  number,  who  formed  a  second 
church  (N.  S.),  with  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
as  their  Pastor.  The  first  church,  consisting  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  members,  and  worshipping  in  an 
old  and  incommodious  edifice,  requested  Dr.  Archibald 
Alexander,  through  a  commissioner  to  the  General  As- 

O 

sembly,  in  1840,  to  recommend  to  them  some  suitable 
person  for  a  minister.  He  recommended  Mr.  Gurley ; 
and,  accordingly,  Mr.  Gurley  was  applied  to,  accepted 
their  invitation,  and,  on  the  15th  of  December,  was  re 
ceived  by  the  Presbytery  of  Indianapolis,  was  ordained 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  installed  as  Pastor  of 
the  church  which  had  called  him.  Here  he  very  soon 
acquired  a  powerful  influence,  not  only  by  his  correct, 
able,  scriptural  preaching,  but  by  his  faithfulness  as  a 
pastor,  and  his  considerate,  exemplary  deportment  in  all 
the  relations  of  life.  The  rapid  increase  of  his  congre 
gation  created  the  necessity  for  a  new  church-edifice ; 
and  this  was  built,  chiefly  in  response  to  his  appeals  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  191 

efforts,  and  was  dedicated  in  May,  1843.  In  the  early 
part  of  that  year,  a  revival  of  religion  took  place  under 
his  ministry,  in  which  his  labors  were  most  abundant, 
and  from  which  was  gathered  much  precious  fruit. 
During  his  ministry  here,  he  visited  Cincinnati,  Fort 
Wayne,  and  several  other  places,  in  seasons  of  revival ; 
and  his  labors  were  always  attended  with  a  manifest 
blessing. 

In  November,  1849,  Mr.  Guiiey  preached  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  assisted 
the  pastor  in  the  communion  service.  That  congrega 
tion,  becoming  vacant  soon  after,  elected  him  as  its 
Pastor.  Influenced  largely  by  a  regard  to  the  health 
of  his  family, .  he  accepted  the  call,  and  was  installed 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Miami,  in  April,  1850.  Here  he 
remained  four  years,  during  which  time  he  was  inde 
fatigable  in  his  labor,  and  the  church  enjoyed  unwonted 
prosperity. 

The  pastoral  relation  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  D.  X.  Junkin,  to 
the  F  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Washington  City, 
having  been  dissolved  in  October,  1853,  the  congregation, 
by  advice  of  the  several  Presbyterian  ministers  in  Balti 
more,  unanimously  called  Dr.  Gurley  (for  meanwhile  he 
had  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity)  to  become 
their  Pastor,  and  that  without  even  having  had  the  op 
portunity  to  hear  him  preach.  He  immediately  visited 
Washington,  and  preached  to  the  congregation,  who,  af 
ter  having  heard  him,  repeated  their  call.  He  returned 
to  Dayton,  and  announced  to  his  people  his  determination 
to  remain  with  them ;  but,  upon  more  mature  reflection, 
he  reversed  his  decision,  and  resigned  his  charge,  and,  in 


192  PKESBYTEEIAN    KEUJSTION. 

Marcli,  1854,  was  installed  pastor  of  the  F  Street  Clmrcli, 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore.  Here  he  continued, 
discharging  his  various  duties  with  great  fidelity  and 
success,  until  he  finished  his  course  with  joy. 

In  1858,  he  served  as  Chaplain  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  In  1859,  a  union  of  the  Second  Presby 
terian  Church  with  the  F  Street  Church  having  been 
consummated,  the  united  body  was  known  from  that 
time  as  the  New  York  Avenue  Church,  Dr.  Gurley 
continuing  its  Pastor.  To  the  building  of  the  noble 
edifice  now  occupied  by  this  church,  he  contributed 
largely,  by  collecting  funds,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
In  1865,  the  church  with  which  he  was  connected,  in 
accordance  with  his  advice,  established  a  Mission  Church 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  city,  which  he  helped  to 
sustain  and  advance  by  every  means  in  his  power.  He 
had  a  high  estimate  of  the  importance  of  Church  Exten 
sion,  and,  both  by  his  teachings  and  his  example,  did 
much  to  promote  it. 

Dr.  Gurley  was  a  commissioner  from  his  Presbytery 
to  the  General  Assembly  that  met  at  St.  Louis,  in  May, 
1866.  As  Chairman  of  the  Judicial  Committee  of  that 
Assembly,  he  exerted  a  commanding  influence,  and  was 
especially  active  in  securing  the  passage  of  certain  reso 
lutions,  having  a  bearing  on  the  then  distracted  state 
of  the  country  and  the  Church.  The  same  General 
Assembly  appointed  him  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  Fifteen  to  confer  with  a  similar  Committee  of  the 
New  School  General  Assembly,  in  regard  to  the  reunion 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Here  he  labored  with 
great  care,  and  yet  with  great  diligence,  and,  though  at 


TRK 


UNITIES 

BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  193 

^ 

first  doubtful,  became  ultimately  satisfied,  of  the  desira 
bleness  of  reunion.  He  was  again  commissioned  by  his 
Presbytery  to  attend  the  General  Assembly  which  met 
at  Cincinnati,  in  May,  1867.  Of  that  body,  he  was 
chosen  Moderator  ;  and  by  the  promptness  and  skill  with 
which  he  presided,  as  well  as  the  graceful  and  cordial 
welcome  which  he  gave  to  the  delegation  of  foreign 
ministers  present  on  the  occasion,  he  excited  general 
admiration. 

Dr.  Gurley's  ministry  at  Washington  brought  him  in 
contact  with  many  of  the  higher  class  of  minds  ;  and 
several  of  the  successive  Presidents  of  the  United  States, 
and  many  others  holding  exalted  stations,  were  among 
his  stated  hearers.  With  President  Lincoln,  especially, 
he  was  on  terms  of  intimacy  ;  and  one  reason  which  the 
President  gave  for  liking  him  as  a  preacher,  was,  that 
he  kept  so  far  aloof  from  politics.  Dr.  Gurley,  as  a 
pastor,  was  called  to  attend  him  in  his  last  hours  ;  and 
after  the  death-scene  was  over,  he  offered  a  most  touch 
ing  and  impressive  prayer;  and  afterwards,  at  the  fun 
eral,  delivered  an  address  of  great  pathos  and  poAver. 
He  accompanied  the  remains  of  the  President  to  their 
last  resting-place  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  there  closed 
the  series  of  funeral  sersdces. 

At  the  time  of  Dr.  Gurley's  attendance  at  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  at  St.  Louis,  his  health  seemed  firm, 
and  there  was  every  thing  in  his  appearance  to  justify 
the  expectation  that  he  would  see  yet  many  more  years 
of  active  usefulness.  But  even  then,  he  was  rapidly 
nearing  the  close.  On  the  first  Sabbath  of  February 
of  the  next  year,  he  felt  constrained  to  ask  leave  of 

13 


194  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

absence  from  his  congregation  for  a  few  months,  in  the 
hope  of  being  able  to  return  to  them  with  invigorated 
health.  His  request  was  readily  granted,  and  he  went 
immediately  to  Philadelphia,  and  stopped  with  a  much 
loved  friend  there  for  about  six  weeks.  Thence  he  went 
to  Richmond,  Va.,  and  afterwards  to  Brooklyn,  N.Y. ; 
and  then  to  Clifton  Springs.  Being  fully  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  his  malady  must  soon  prove 
fatal,  he  requested  that  he  might  be  carried  back  to 
Washington  to  die ;  and,  accordingly,  he  reached  his 
earthly  home  a  little  less  than  a  week  before  he  took 
possession  of  the  building  of  God.  His  departure  was 
eminently  peaceful,  and  even  glorious.  He  died  on  the 
30th  of  September,  1868. 

In  October,  1840,  he  was  married  to  Emma,  young 
est  daughter  of  Horace  Brooks,  M.D.,  of  Parishville, 
where  he  spent  his  early  years.  Mrs.  Gurley  and  five 
children  —  three  sons  and  two  daughters  —  survived 
him. 

Dr.  Gurley  had  a  well  formed  and  robust  frame,  that 
seemed  fittingly  to  represent  his  intellectual  and  moral 
character.  He  had  great  power  of  endurance,  and 
could  perform  more  labor  than  almost  any  of  his  con 
temporaries.  He  was  earnest  and  firm,  yet  condescend 
ing  and  conciliatory.  His  preaching  was  not  highly 
impassioned,  but  it  was  eminently  clear,  evangelical,  and 
spirited,  and  fitted  to  find  its  way  to  both  the  under 
standing  and  the  heart.  As  a  Pastor,  he  united  great 
discretion  with  great  fidelity,  and  no  one  knew  better 
than  he  how  to  mingle  in  scenes  of  sorrow.  As  a  Pres- 

o 

byter,  the  various  ecclesiastical  bodies  with  which  he 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  195 

was  connected  have  testified  their  respect  for  him  and 
their  confidence  in  him,  by  placing  him  in  their  highest 
positions  of  influence  and  responsibility.  As  a  Chris 
tian,  he  was  humble,  zealous,  consistent ;  and  his  grand 
inquiry  always  was,  what  his  Lord  and  Master  would 
have  him  to  do. 


CHAPTER    FOURTH. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  (NEW  SCHOOL  BRANCH). 


BY     THE     REV.     Z.     M.     HUMPHREY,     D.D. 


Each  branch  of  the  Church  has  its  own  individual  life.  —  First  Officers  of  the 
New  School.— Samuel  Fisher,  D.D.— The  Rev.  E.  W.  Gilbert.— Erskine 
Mason,  D.D.— Edward  D.  Griffin,  D.D.— James  Patterson,  D.D.— Gideon 
Blackburn,  D.  D.  — James  Richards,  D.  D.  —  Henry  Mills,  D.  D.  —  Henry 
White,  D  D.  — Edward  Robinson,  D.D.  — Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.  —  Th  >mas 
Brainerd,  D.D.  —George  Duffield,  D.D.  — *Artemas  Bullard,  D.D.  —The 
Rev.  Frederick  Starr,  Jr.  —  Thornton  A.  Mills,  D.  D.  —  Frederick  Starr, 
Esq.  —  Hon.  William  Jessup. 


EVERY  vigorous  association  has  an  organic  life,  which 
is  marked  more  or  less  clearly  by  individual  character 
istics.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
In  a  subordinate  sense,  it  is  true  of  each  of  the  di 
visions  of  the  Church.  The  Greek,  the  Roman,  the 
Protestant  Church  —  each  is  individual.  The  same  is 
true  of  denominations,  and  of  the  minor  divisions  into 
which  denominations  are  separated.  The  history  of  a 
Church,  therefore,  must  be  treated  somewhat  as  we  treat 
that  of  a  man, — presenting  it  in  its  personal  character, 
as  well  as  in  its  relations.  In  writing  even  single  chap 
ters  of  such  a  history,  some  analysis  must  be  made  of 
the  elements  and  forces  which  give  the  history  its  tone. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  America,  for  example, 
may  be  compared  to  the  Mediterranean,  if  not  to  the 
Atlantic.  It  has  a  direct  connection  with  the  Church 


iBfl/i 


r      i 
,1 


If 

V*x 


B10GEAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  197 

universal,  as  the  inlying  has  with  the  outlying  sea.  The 
great  tides  may  flow  into  it,  as  they  run  through  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar ;  but  it  is,  to  some  extent,  what  its 
tributaries  make  it.  It  has  its  divisions,  as  the  Medi 
terranean  has  its  Adriatic  and  its  JEgean ;  but  each  of 
these  divisions  contains  some  peculiarities,  depending  in 
part  upon  position,  in  part  upon  what  is  brought  down 
into  it.  What  even  a  tributary  shall  be  depends  upon 
the  springs  which  run  among  the  hills. 

Our  present  purpose  is  to  indicate  some  of  the  earthly 
sources  from  which  what  was  recently  known  as  the 
New  School  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States 
derived  its  life,  while  separated  from  that  portion  of  the 
Church  of  which  it  once  formed  and  now  forms  an  in 
tegral  part,  by  a  ridge,  which,  thrown  up  in  a  period  of 
convulsion,  has  gradually  subsided  in  a  period  of  calm. 
We  cannot,  however,  specify  all  of  even  the  most  im 
portant  of  these  sources.  For  obvious  reasons,  we 
must  confine  ourselves  to  notices  of  those  whose 
earthly  lives  are  already  terminated,  though  conscious 
of  the  imperfection  which  such  a  restriction  neces 
sitates. 

Some  of  those  who  have  contributed  most  to  the  indi 
vidual  character  of  the  New  School  Church,  still  remain 
with  us,  Seri  in  ccelum  redeant.  We  must  be  silent  re 
specting  some  of  whom  are  not  permitted  to  speak. 

We  have,  indeed,  less  space  than  we  could  wish,  for 
reference  to  those  of  whom  we  may  speak.  Some  hon 
ored  names  will  be  missed  by  the  reader  from  these 
scant  pages.  Let  our  excuse  for  silence  respecting  them 
be,  that  our  purpose  is  not  that  of  the  biographer,  so 
much  as  that  of  the  analyzer ;  hence,  a  few  of  those  who 


198  PEESBYTEPJAN   REUNION. 

have  contributed  to  the  individual  life  of  the  Church, 
must  stand  as  representatives  of  the  rest.* 

The  first  officers  of  this  division  of  the  Church  after 
the  separation,  were :  SAMUEL  FISIIER,  D.D.,  Moderator ; 
the  Rev.  E.  W.  GILBERT,  and  ERSKINE  MASON,  D.D. 
Clerks. 

These  officers  were  well  chosen.  All  of  them  were 
strong  and  judicious  men.  Dr.  Fisher  had  long  been 
known  in  the  Church  as  one  of  its  most  faithful  workers 
and  wisest  counsellors.  At  the  period  of  the  division,  he 
was  in  his  sixty -first  year.  He  was  born  in  Sunderland, 
Mass.,  June,  1777.  His  father,  an  officer  in  the  Army  of 
the  Revolution,  had  died  a  short  time  previous  at  Mor- 
ristown,  N.  J.  He  resided  during  his  boyhood  with  an 
uncle, — Dr.  Ware,  at  Conway,  Mass.  He  was  graduated 
at  Williams  College,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three ;  and 
pursued  his  theological  studies  in  part  with  Dr.  Hyde, 
of  Lee.  His  first  pastorate  was  at  Wilton,  Conn.,  where 
he  was  ordained,  in  1805.  In  1809,  he  was  sent  by  the 
General  Association  of  Connecticut,  to  represent  that 
body  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Philadelphia.  Here,  he  formed  an  acquain 
tance  with  Rev.  Dr.  Richards,  of  Morristown,  and  ac 
companied  him  to  that  place  for  a  visit  to  the  scene  of 
his  father's  decease.  This  visit  opened  for  him  the  door 
into  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as,  soon  after,  Dr.  Rich 
ards  removed  to  Newark,  and  Mr.  Fisher  was  invited  to 
take  charge  of  the  Morristown  congregation.  The  call 

O  O        O 

was  accepted.     The  congregation  was  one  of  the  largest 

*  The  materials  for  these  sketches  were  collected  from  various  sources ;  but 
we  are  specially  indebted  to  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  and 
Wttsoii's  Presbyterian  Historical  Almanac. 


BIOGKAPinCAL    SKETCHES.  199 

in  New  Jersey,  embracing,  as  it  did,  over  five  hundred 
families,  and  covering  a  wide  territory.  His  ministry 
here  was  most  acceptable  and  useful ;  but  ended  in  the 
year  1814,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  First  Presbyte 
rian  Church  in  Paterson,  where  he  remained  twenty 
years,  pursuing  his  duties  with  signal  success,  and  exert 
ing  a  powerful  influence  within  and  far  beyond  the 
bounds  of  his  parish. 

In  the  summer  of  1834,  warned  by  failing  health  to 
seek  less  arduous  duties  than  those  which  had  multi 
plied  around  him  in  this  long  and  important  pastorate, 
he  resigned  his  charge.  His  ministry,  after  this  pe- 
iod,  was  comparatively  broken,  though  he  continued  to 
labor  for  many  years  at  Kamapo,  at  Greenbush,  N.Y., 
and  at  other  places.  He  died  in  1856,  with  the  depart 
ing  year,  in  the  family  of  one  of  his  children  in  New 
Jersey. 

The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  1827  ;  and  he 
honored  the  title.  As  a  theologian,  he  was  clear  and 
thorough.  His  abilities  in  this  department  of  thought, 
were  so  highly  respected,  that  he  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  candidates  for  the  professorship  of  theology 
in  Auburn  Seminary,  at  its  founding.  Agreeing  very 
nearly  in  his  views  with  Dr.  Spring,  of  New  York,  who 
was  always  prominent  in  the  Old  School  Church  after 
the  division,  he  believed  in  the  substantial  soundness  of 
the  New  School,  and  so  sought  to  prove  in  the  sermon 
which  he  preached  before  the  General  Assembly,  when 
resigning  the  Moderator's  chair  in  1839. 

As  a  Preacher,  he  was  direct,  instructive,  scriptural, 
and  in  the  highest  sense,  popular.  Of  no  vivid  fancy, 


200  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

he  possessed  the  power  of  vivid  statement.  lie  under 
stood  "  the  art  of  putting  things."  By  no  long,  involved, 
and  glittering  sentences,  did  he  at  once  please  and  be 
wilder.  His  utterances  were  crisp  and  unmistakable. 
The  common  people  heard  him  gladly,  and  the  most 
intelligent  were  interested  and  satisfied. 

o 

"  There  was  in  his  preaching,"  says  Dr.  Magie,  long 
his  neighbor  and  intimate  friend,  "  a  sort  of  naturalness 
of  tone,  of  style,  of  delivery,  which  used  to  interest  me 
exceedingly.  It  was  the  simplicity  of  a  child,  yet  a 
simplicity  consistent  with  robust  thought.  No  one, 
probably,  ever  suspected  that  there  was  a  spice  of  affec 
tation  in  the  free,  open  countenance,  in  the  clear,  impres 
sive  eye.  It  was  impossible  to  doubt  his  deep  sincerity 
of  soul.  As  he  became  warmed  with  his  subject,  the 
tender  accents  and  suffused  eye  told  his  hearers  how 
much  concerned  he  felt  for  their  welfare." 

Among  those  who  heard  him  preach  occasionally  in 
the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Richards,  at  Newark,  was  a  young 
student-at-law,  who  has  since  become  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  lights  of  the  American  pulpit, — Dr.  SAMUEL 
HANSON  Cox.  This  young  man,  not  yet  a  Christian, 
listened  to  Mr.  Fisher  with  no  common  attention ;  and 
when  himself  a  preacher  of  wide  popularity,  he  retained 
an  unabating  respect  for  one  who  had  early  inspired 
him  "  with  a  general  awe  of  God,  whose  ways  he  vindi 
cated  with  sincerity  and  mastery  of  manner."  The  de 
votion  of  Dr.  Fisher  to  the  interests  of  the  Church,  is 
well  illustrated  by  a  reminiscence  which  Dr.  Cox  thus 
recalls :  — 

"  When  I  was  first  elected  Moderator  of  Presbytery, 
I  remember  we  met  in  his  parish  at  Paterson.  He  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  201 

just  recovering  from  a  perilous  attack  of  sickness.  We 
hesitated  about  meeting  there,  but  were  urged  by  pas 
tor  and  people.  So  we  came,  but  with  no  idea  of  see 
ing  him  in  Presbytery.  On  the  morning  of  the  second 
day,  however,  he  entered  most  abruptly,  to  the  aston 
ishment  and  grief  of  his  brethren.  He  looked  reduced, 
haggard,  wan,  and  scarcely  able  to  walk ;  when  he 
spoke  instantly,  as  follows  :  - 

"  '  Mr.  Moderator,  I  could  not  be  easy  without  leaving 
my  couch,  and  at  least  reporting  myself  in  Presbytery. 
I  am  grieved,  when  you  are  here,  not  to  be  able  to  serve 
you,  and  to  enjoy  the  expected  pleasure  of  your  society. 
I  have  been  very  sick ;  but  have  reason  to  thank  God 
for  my  present  convalescence.  My  brethren  will,  I 
know,  sustain  my  reasons  for  absence.  I  pray  the  Lord 
to  be  with  you,  and  hope  you  will  remember  me  and 
mine  in  your  prayers.' 

"  The  effort  was  almost  too  much  for  him.  Two  mem 
bers  rushed  to  his  support,  and  led  him  to  his  chamber 
again,  with  increasing  admiration  of  his  character,  and 
love  of  his  companionship." 

By  reason  of  age  and  weakened  physical  powers,  he 
was  not  conspicuous  in  the  Church  after  the  division ; 
but  was  generally  beloved  and  trusted  to  the  end.  t 

In  the  year  1814,  a  number  of  students  from  Prince 
ton  Theological  Seminary  visited  Wilmington,  Del.,  to 
labor  in  the  spiritual  harvest-field.  An  extensive  revival 
was  prevailing.  Among  these  students  was  ELIPIIALET 
W.  GILBERT,*  then  in  the  junior  year  of  his  Seminary 
course.  His  efforts  in  this  revival  were  so  peculiarly 

*  Born  in  Lebanon,  Columbia  County,  KY.,  Dec.  19th,  1793. 


202  PRESBYTEBIAN    EEUNION. 

blessed,  that,  as  soon  after  his  licensure  as  his  services 
could  be  commanded  as  pastor,  he  was  with  great  una 
nimity  recalled  to  Wilmington  and  settled  over  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church.  There  he  remained  un 
til  1834,  during  which  year  he  accepted  the  Presidency 
of  Delaware  College.  He  returned,  however,  to  Wil 
mington  in  the  following  year,  in  obedience  to  the  call 
of  the  Hanover  Street  Church.  In  1841,  he  became 
once  more  President  of  Delaware  College,  and  retained 
this  office 'until  1847,  when  he  accepted  a  call  from  the 
Western  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia.  Here  he 
remained  until  his  death,  in  1853. 

The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  University  of  Vermont,  in  the  year  1841. 

He  was  a  man  of  clear  mind  and  of  decided  views ; 
skilled  as  a  controversialist,  yet  of  such  courtesy  to  his 
opponents,  that  when  the  joust  was  over  they  were 
among  the  first  to  sit  down  in  his  tent.  He  was  "  mighty 
in  the  Scriptures,"  and  studied  them  with  constant  care. 
His  effort  as  a  preacher  was  to  set  forth  the  truth  in 
strong,  sharp  outlines ;  yet  these  outlines  were  often  il 
luminated  and  tinted  by  vivid  lights  and  touches.  He 
was  an  omnivorous  reader,  and  drew  knowledge  and  il 
lustration  from  every  available  source.  In  the  discus 
sions  of  theological  questions  he  charmed  his  hearers 
by  crystalline  statements,  acute  distinctions,  and  the  play 
ful  radiance  which  he  threw  over  all.  His  life  ran  into 
that  of  the  Church  at  large  like  a  clear,  bright  stream, 
whose  qualities  were  only  diffused,  not  lost  after  the 
stream  had  ceased  to  flow. 

Dr.  EKSKINE   MASON  had  a  mind  in  some  respects 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  203 

like  that  of  Dr.  Gilbert ;  but  more  highly  cultured  and 
more  roundly  developed.  His  great  centre  of  influence 
was  that  of  the  pulpit.  It  has  been  justly  maintained 
by  one  of  our  distinguished  men,  that  the  normal  posi 
tion  of  Presbyterianism,  socially  considered,  is  interme 
diate,  and  thus  most  favorable  for  reaching  and  mould 
ing  all  ranks  of  society.  Dr.  Mason's  influences  went 
upward  and  outward  upon  some  of  the  most  intelligent 
persons  of  his  day.  The  son  of  one  of  the  most  cele 
brated  preachers  America  has  produced  ;*  brought  up 
in  our  commercial  metropolis,  where  he  came  in  con 
stant  contact  with  men  of  wealth  and  culture,  —  all  the 
associations  and  habits  of  his  early  life  fitted  him  for  the 
station  he  was  to  occupy.  He  did  not  inherit  all  the 
mental  qualities  of  his  father.  His  heart  was  incapa 
ble  of  those  fervors  which  sometimes  rendered  the  elo 
quence  of  his  father  so  grand.  He  had  not  that  versa 
tility  which  gave  his  father  a  supreme  eminence  in  the 
pulpit,  on  the  platform,  in  the  class-room,  or  in  the  so 
cial  circle.  Yet  in  him  some  of  the  best  qualities  of 
the  sire  were  reproduced.  He  had,  perhaps,  even  more 
logical  power.  He  would  never  have  been  styled  a  popu 
lar  preacher  by  those  to  whom  eloquence  is  a  matter  of 
pulse  and  thrill.  He  never  had  occasion  to  complain  of 
that  "  popularity  of  stare  and  pressure  and  animal  heat " 
which  Dr.  Chalmers  deplored.  The  crowds  drifted  into 
other  churches  than  his. 

We  remember  hearing  him  once  in  the   church   in 

o 

Bleecker  Street,  N.Y.,  which  was  so  long  identified  with 
his  name.      Our  seat  was  in  the  half -empty  gallery. 

*  Erskine  Mason  was  the  youngest  child  of  Dr.  John  M.  Mason,  and  was 
born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  April  16th,  1805. 


204  PKESBYTEKIAN    KEUSTION. 

The  audience  upon  the  main  floor  was  thin  and  scattered. 
But  probably  no  church  in  the  city  contained  at  that 
moment  a  larger  proportion  of  the  students  of  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary.  He  was  the  prime  favorite  of 
that  school  of  the  prophets.  We  felt  sure,  as  we  looked 
and  listened,  that  were  he  preaching  to  these  students 
alone,  he  would  through  them  reach  many  thousands. 
They  were  lenses  gathering  light  to  scatter  it  abroad. 
But  in  the  pews  sat  also  some  of  the  most  influential 
men  of  the  denomination.  Preaching  to  those  who 
helped  to  fashion  the  thought  and  the  polity  of  the 
Church,  he  exerted  a  power  whose  sources  were  never 
known  by  multitudes  who  felt  it.  Controlling  the  pe 
cuniary  resources  of  men  of  wealth,  he  wrought  in 
every  work  of  benevolence  to  which  they  contributed. 
Some  of  the  most  distinguished  jurists  in  the  land  were 
among  his  auditors.  To  them  he  brought  proof  of  the 
positions  he  assumed.  And,  accustomed  as  they  were 
to  the  analysis  of  argument,  they  listened  with  an  in 
terest  like  that  which  is  felt  in  the  court-room,  and  with 
a  satisfaction  far  greater  than  that  often  derived  from 
learned  expositions  of  earthly  law. 

Yet  he  was  not  a  man  of  cold  intellect.  His  thoughts 
were  often  warmed  by  a  pathos  which  broke  though 
their  white  lights,  and  made  them  tremulous  as  with  an 
inward  fire.  He  frequently  addressed  the  consciences 
of  his  hearers  in  powerful  appeal.  None  could  more 
forcibly  apply  the  great  principles  of  God's  law.  Few 
could  more  deeply  move  the  heart  by  the  presentation 
of  the  Cross.  His  discourses  were  always  carefully 
prepared,  and  delivered  from  manuscript.  Even  his 
more  familiar  lectures  were  put  together  with  unusual 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  205 

care  and  skill.  He  was  never  distinguished  for  extem 
poraneous  speech ;  his  habits  and  constitutional  tenden 
cies  were  unfavorable  to  it.  He  loved  a  perfect  argu 
ment  better  than  a  glowing  peroration.  He  was  a 
quiet  man,  and  avoided  every  thing  that  might  look  like 
display.  He  was  a  lover  of  peace  and  order.  There 
was  more  than  a  dash  of  heroic  blood  in  his  father's 
veins,  and  he  was  always  ready  for  the  charge  or  the 
fray ;  but  the  son  was  not  less  loyal  to  God  and  the 
truth.  His  courage  fitted  him  for  the  defence  of  'the 
citadel,  if  not  for  the  struggle  of  "  the  imminent  and 
deadly  breach.^ 

He  was  sincerely  attached  to  the  division  of  the  Church 
into  which  he  fell  with  his  Presbytery  in  1838,  and 
served  it  well  until  1851,  when,  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-six,  he  died.  He  maintained  to  the  last,  a  special 
interest  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  having  given 
to  it  much  of  his  time  for  six  years  as  the  occupant  of 
its  Chair  of  Ecclesiastical  History. 

Among  the  princes  of  the  pulpit,  whose  influence 
penetrated  the  more  educated  classes  at  the  time  of  the 
division,  none  is  more  deserving  of  mention  than  Dr. 

/  O 

EDWARD  D.  GRIFFIN.  His  influence,  however,  upon  this 
branch  of  the  Church  was  mainly  posthumous,  as  he 
died  in  Newark,  November  8th,  1837.  "We  will  there 
fore,  make  no  attempt  to  sketch  his  life  and  character. 

Had  we  space  to  occupy  with  even  outlined  sketches 
of  all  now  deceased  who  were  prominent  in  the  New 
School  Church  at  the  p?riod  of  separation,  we  should 
give  conspicuous  place  to  such  men  as  EZRA  S.  ELY,  D.D. 


206  PRESBYTERIAN    REUIHON. 

distinguished  as  preacher,  as  editor,  as  educator ;  and 
Dr.  ABSOLOM  PETERS,  unsurpassed  as  a  parliamentarian ; 
and  Drs.  WM.  HILL  and  GIDEON  N.  JUDD.  We  must 
leave  names  only  at  some  points  where  we  would  rather 
hang  pictures. 

We  have  referred  to  Drs.  Mason  and  Griffin,  as  rep 
resentative  of  the  preachers  who  sent  their  influences  into 
the  more  cultured  classes  of  society.  Of  those  who,  at 
this  early  period,  wrought  upon  the  popular  heart,  none 
was  more  effective  among  the  masses  of  the  city,  than 
Dr.  JAMES  PATTERSON,  of  Philadelphia.*  In  reading  the 
descriptions  left  us  of  his  person  and  character,  one  can 
scarce  avoid  thinking  of  him  as  of  some  Hebrew  prophet. 
To  our  fancy,  he  was  not  unlike  the  prophet  Jeremiah, 
who  is  compared  by  an  English  scholar  to  the  thin- vis- 
aged,  fiery-souled  Dante.  "  In  Dante,  as  in  the  prophet,  we 
find  —  united,  it  is  true,  with  greater  strength  and  stern 
ness  —  that  intense  susceptibility  to  the  sense  of  wrong, 
which  shows  itself  sometimes  in  passionate  complaint, 
sometimes  in  bitter  words  of  invective  and  reproach.  In 
both,  we  find  the  habit  of  mind  which  selects  an  image 
not  for  its  elegance  or  sublimity,  but  for  what  it  means ; 
not  shrinking  even  from  what  seems  grotesque  or  trivial, 
sometimes  veiling  its  meaning  in  allusions  more  or  less 
dark  and  enigmatic." 

The  impression  thus  defined,  is  confirmed  by  the  de 
scription  of  one  who  knew  Dr.  Patterson  long  and  well. 
"At  least  six  feet  in  height,  and  so  lank  that  he  seemed 
still  taller ;  eyes  black,  and  set  deep  in  his  head ;  coal- 

*  Born  at  Ervina,  Pa.,  March  18th,  1779. 


BIOGEAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  207 

black,  straight  hair ;  sldn  dark,  and  complexion  so  pale, 
as  often  to  seem  cadaverous ;  high  cheek-bones,  and 
large  mouth ;  all  wrought  by  labor,  responsibility,  ner 
vous  sympathy,  and  feeble  health,  into  an  expression, 
grave,  almost  sad ;  his  eyes  often  streaming  with  tears, 
and  his  voice  in  its  higher  tones,  shrill,  piercing,  lugu 
brious,  or  severe, — he  seemed  like  an  old  prophet  of 
Israel,  risen  from  the  dead  —  a  messenger  from  another 
world  come  to  warn  the  wicked  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come." 

He  was  by  no  means  without  early  cultivation.  Nor 
did  he  begin  his  ministry  in  the  use  of  headlong  methods. 
Educated  at  Jefferson  College,  he  employed  himself  for 
some  time  as  a  teacher  of  the  classics.  Pursuing  his 
theological  studies  at  Princeton,  his  earlier  sermons  were 
marked  by  careful  elaborations  of  thought  and  style. 
But  he  soon  changed  his  mode  of  address,  in  obedience, 
doubtless,  to  the  laws  of  his  individuality ;  yet  also  in 
consequence  of  a  conviction  that  his  great  purpose, 
which  was  the  speediest  conversion  of  the  largest  num 
ber  of  souls,  could  be  effected  by  a  simple,  unadorned, 
vigorous  handling  of  the  truth.  His  passion  for  souls 
was  intense.  Here,  again,  we  are  reminded  of  Jeremiah. 
"  Oh,  that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  foun 
tain  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night  for  the 
slain  of  the  daughters  of  my  people."  Yet,  unlike  Jere 
miah,  he  never  wished  that  he  "  had  in  the  wilderness, 
a  lodging-place  of  wayfaring  men,"  that  he  might  sepa 
rate  himself  from  those  whose  wickedness  he  deplored. 
On  the  contrary,  when,  in  1814,  he  assumed  the  pastor 
ate  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  in  what  was  then 
styled  the  "Northern  Liberties"  of  Philadelphia,  he 


208  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

applied  himself  to  Iris  work  with  all  his  vigor.  Sur 
rounded  by  "  the  poor,  the  illiterate,  the  animalized,  the 
stupid,  the  heathenish,"  he  adopted  every  available 
means  to  reach  them.  Dr.  Mason  would  never  adver 
tise  his  church  services.  Dr.  Patterson  used  all  the 
machinery  of  advertising, —  circulating  handbills,  dis 
playing  placards  on  the  walls,  announcing  novel  texts 
and  subjects ;  then  when  the  people  were  attracted  to 
his  church,  pleasing  them  with  quaint  illustrations,  that 
he  might,  after  gaining  their  attention,  drive  the  truth 
home  into  their  hearts.  He  believed  in  revivals,  and  in 
promoting  them  by  every  legitimate  means.  He  believed 
in  work,  and  infused  his  energy  into  all  about  him.  He 
had  little  patience  with  a  drone.  He  loved  to  think  of 
God  as  making  "  His  angels,  spirits,  His  ministers  a 
flaming  fire."  His  revulsion  from  the  arts  of  a  re- 

O 

fined  popularity,  led  him  sometimes  to  distrust  the  meth 
ods  of  those  of  his  brethren  whose  natures  were  tuned 
to  a  different  key ;  but  this  only  made  him  the  more 
popular  with  the  masses,  who  gave  him  their  affec 
tion  and  yielded  to  his  persuasions  in  a  remarkable 
degree. 

In  the  courts  of  the  Church  he  was  the  same  impul 
sive,  yet  true-hearted  man  that  he  was  in  pulpit  and  par 
ish.  He  was  ardently  attached  to  any  cause  which  he 
espoused,  and  is  remembered  by  those  with  whom  he 
was  associated  after  the  division,  as  one  of  their  warm 
est  and  most  efficient  friends.  And  at  last,  when  it  was 
announced  that  he  was  dead,  "  there  was  one  unanimous 
lament  throughout  the  city.  His  praise  was  on  all  lips, 
and  at  least  ten  thousand  people,  of  all  characters  and 
classes,  came  to  drop  a  tear  on  the  dust  of  one  who 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  209 

had  faithfully  served  God,  in  spending  his  life  to  sanc 
tify  and  save  the  lost." 

As  representative  of  those  who  at  this  period  preached 
the  Gospel  most  effectively  among  the  scattered  popu 
lation  of  the  frontier,  we  select,  without  hesitation,  Dr. 
GIDEOX  BLACKBURN.*  Born  in  one  of  the  counties  of 
Virginia  which  touched  the  wilderness,  his  early  tastes 
were  those  of  the  woods  and  the  hills.  His  ministry 
commenced  about  the  year  1792,  in  what  were  then  the 
wilds  of  Tennessee,  among  a  people  inured  to  hardship, 
and  constantly  exposed  to  assault  from  hostile  Indian 
tribes.  This  exposure  had  occasioned  the  establishment 
of  many  forts  in  the  region.  To  one  of  these  forts,  that 
of  Maryville,  the  young  preacher  marched  with  a  com 
pany  of  soldiers,  clad  in  a  hunting-shirt  and  carrying 
his  trusty  rifle.  He  was  the  Daniel  Boone  of  the  pul 
pit  ;  and  when  in  his  frequent  excursions  from  one  fort 
to  another,  he  gathered  the  settlers —  as  he  delighted  to 
do  —  for  worship,  he  often  preached  under  the  shadow 
of  a  tree,  his  rifle  leaning  against  the  trunk,  while  his  au 
ditors  supported  themselves  on  their  weapons.  His  hab 
its  of  preaching  thus  formed  were  direct  and  "  of£-hand." 
The  woodsman  despises  a  preacher  who  cannot  shoot  or 
speak  "  without  a  rest."  In  later  days,  and  before  more 
cultivated  audiences,  he  never  used  a  manuscript.  He 
seldom,  wrote  his  sermons.  The  associations  of  the  for 
est  always  clung  to  him.  His  method  of  preparing  his 
discourses  was  to  make  the  survey  of  his  subject  while 
on  his  feet,  fixing  Hs  points  the  while  by  some  sudden 

*  Son  of  Robert  Blackburn,  and  born  in  Augusta  County,  Va. ,  August  27, 
1772. 

14 


210  PEESBYTEEIAN   REUNION. 

dashes  of  his  pen.  As  lie  himself  describes  it,  "he 
blazed  his  path." 

It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  him  rough 
in  manner  or  in  character.  He  was  of  erect  and  manly 
figure ;  his  bearing  was  that  of  a  soldier,  graceful  and 
dignified.  He  was  never  a  critical  scholar ;  and  some 
times  provoked  the  criticisms  of  the  fastidious  by  care 
less  expressions  or  by  unsound  pronunciation.  He  was 
a  good  scholar,  nevertheless,  and  once  disarmed  a  classi 
cal  hearer  by  an  apt  illustration  from  Xenophon.  His 
language  in  the  pulpit  was  as  free  as  the  winds  among 
the  oaks,  and  as  vivid  as  the  sunlight  on  the  leaves.  He 

O 

especially  excelled  in  word-painting.  His  descriptions 
were  revelations.  His  hearers  seemed  rather  to  see  than 
to  listen.  When  describing  the  crucifixion,  the  cross 
stood  out  on  the  mount  beneath  a  darkened  sky.  When 
depicting  the  scene  of  the  plague  of  the  serpents,  his 
hearers  involuntarily  turned  to  look  at  the  sufferer,  as, 
pointing  with  his  finger,  he  cried,  "  There  !  see  that  wo 
man  !  one  of  the  serpents  has  just  struck  her  and  she 
is  fainting  !  "  It  is  doubtful  whether  Whitfield  was 

o 

ever  more  powerful  than  he  was  in  some  of  his  higher 
moods. 

In  his  later  life,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  interests 
of  education,  and  was  as  successful  among  his  pupils 
as  he  was  in  the  pulpit.  During  three  years  he  was 
President  of  Centre  College,  Kentucky,  and  subsequent 
ly  devoted  himself  to  the  foundation  of  an  institution 
for  the  education  of  ministers  at  Carlinville,  111.,  which 
by  his  foresight  is  now  liberally  endowed,  though  it 
has  not  yet  attained  the  position  among  seminaries 
which  he  designed  to  secure  for  it. 


BIOGEAPIHCAL    SKETCHES.  211 

He  can  scarcely  be  described  as  an  ecclesiastical 
leader.  He  was  too  far  from  ecclesiastical  centres  for 
that,  but  the  Church  acknowledged  his  power,  and  will 
keep  his  name  in  honorable  remembrance.  * 

What  Dr.  Blackburn  designed  for  the  theological  edu- 

O  O 

cation  of  the  Church,  has  been  abundantly  realized  in 
other  institutions  than  that  of  Carlinville.  One  of  the 
brightest  lights  of  Auburn  was  Dr.  JAMES  BICHAEDS. 

Born  at  New  Canaan,  Ct.,  in  1767,  his  mind  developed 
so  rapidly  that  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  became  teacher 
in  a  district  school.  His  early  desire  to  enter  the  min 
istry  was  gratified  after  some  struggle  and  delay.  He 
was  ordained,  May  1st,  1797,  by  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  and  at  the  same  time  installed  pastor  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Church  in  Morristown,N.J.,  whose  pulpit  he 
had  then  been  supplying  about  three  years.  He  soon 
became  so  favorably  known  in  the  Church  at  large,  that, 
in  1S05  he  was  elected  Moderator  of  the  General  As 
sembly.  He  was  then  but  thirty-seven  years  of  age. 
In  his  own  church  he  enjoyed  abundant  success.  Within 
two  years  after  his  installation,  more  than  one  hundred 
persons  were  gathered  into  the  Church  —  fruits  of  a  pow 
erful  revival. 

In  1809,  he  was  selected  by  the  Presbyterian  congre 
gation  at  Newark,  as  successor  to  Dr.  Griffin,  who  had 
been  invited  to  a  professorship  in  Andover.  To  occupy 
the  place  of  such  a  man  involved  no  small  responsi 
bility.  Most  men  would  have  shrunk  from  it.  Dr. 
Richards  was  fully  aware  of  the  difficulties  of  the  posi 
tion  offered  him,  yet  he  accepted  it.  He  had  no  hope 

*  Died  at  Carlinville,  August  23d,  1838. 


212  PKESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

of  reproducing  the  eloquence  which  had  rung  from  that 
pulpit.  Nor  did  he  attempt  it.  He  had  faith  in  the 
truth,  though  his  trumpet  was  not  silver.  He  resolved 
to  give  the  whole  vigor  of  such  powers  as  God  had  be 
stowed  upon  him  to  his  work.  He  could  do  no  more  ; 
God  would  bless  him  in  that.  And  He  did.  Without 
affecting  even  the  literary  graces  of  style,  without  at 
tempting  to  carry  captive  the  fancy,  he  laid  deliberate 
siege  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  his  hearers.  The 
issue  was  triumph.  The  Church  gained  in  strength  and 
in  numbers.  In  1811,  a  large  colony  went  from  it.  No 
better  proof  of  the  strength  of  Dr.  Richards  need  be 
furnished  than  that,  after  this  colony  had  recalled  Dr. 
Griffin  from  Andover,  these  two  men  labored  side  by 
side,  with  perhaps  equal  honor  and  usefulness,  for  a  pe 
riod  of  six  years. 

Dr.  Richards' s  merit  as  a  theologian  became  so  con 
spicuous  during  his  residence  at  Newark,  that  when,  in 
1819,  the  Theological  Seminary  of  Auburn  was  estab 
lished  by  the  Synod  of  Geneva,  he  was  invited  to 
occupy  its  principal  chair.  He  was  already  one  of  the 
Directors  of  the  Princeton  Seminary,  and  had  received 
the  degree  of  S.T.D.  in  one  year  from  both  Yale  and 
Union  Colleges. 

"When  first  invited  to  Auburn, in  1820,  he  declined; 
but  when,  in  1823,  the  invitation  was  renewed,  he  re 
versed  his  former  decision,  and  entered  upon  his  new 
duties  with  his  habitual  method  and  devotion. 

Seldom  has  a  mind  more  perfectly  balanced  been  ap 
plied  to  the  systematic  unfolding  of  theology.  Pro- 
founder  students  have  wrought  in  the  mines  of  relig 
ious  truth.  Men  of  more  genius  have  set  forth  some  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  213 

the  ideas  of  Revelation.  He  laid  no  claim  to  originality, 
but  he  was  a  careful  and  independent  explorer  of  regions 
which  others  had  traversed.  He  was  a  thorough  sur 
veyor  where  others  had  styled  themselves  discoverers. 
He  followed  no  path,  simply  because  some  great  man 
had  cut  it ;  yet  he  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  cut  his 
own  way.  He  was  a  safe  teacher,  because  he  avoided 
all  extremes  ;  a  clear  teacher,  because  he  told  only  what 
he  knew ;  an  instructive  teacher,  because  he  showed  all 
portions  of  revealed  truth  in  their  relations. 

His  theological  stability  was  early  tested  by  the  revi 
val  excitements  which  prevailed  in  Western  New  York 
in  182G-7.  Evangelists,  with  novel  methods  of  preaching 
and  of  labor,  went  from  village  to  village.  Fervor  often 
flamed  into  passion.  Denunciations  were  hurled  from  the 
pulpit  against  all  who  were  opposed  or  indifferent  to  the 
"  measures  "  adopted  for  the  conversion  of  souls.  Even 
public  prayer  was  sometimes  filled  with  violent  epithets 
against  those  who  were  "  keeping  sinners  out  of  heaven." 
The  President  of  Hamilton  College  is  said  to  have  been 
prayed  for  as  an  "  old  gray -headed  sinner,"  and  the  Al 
mighty  was  entreated  to  raze  the  walls  of  the  college  to 
the  ground,  if  necessary,  to  bring  the  President  and  his 
associates  to  "  a  better  mind."  The  excitement  reached 
Auburn.  Dr.  Richards  saw,  and  was  ready  to  confess, 
that  some  good  was  accomplished  by  the  means  which 
commended  themselves  neither  to  his  judgment  nor  his 
experience.  He  could  not  be  untrue  to  his  convictions. 
He  therefore  refused  to  give  the  new  methods  his  sanc 
tion.  The  whole  community  was  aroused.  Many  who 
had  been  large  contributors  to  the  Seminary  thought 
him  unwise.  He  was  charged  with  fighting  against  the 


214  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

Holy  Ghost.  The  students  in  the  Seminary  caught  the 
prevailing  sentiment.  Some  who  had  hitherto  revered 
him  as  a  model  of  wisdom,  publicly  prayed  for  his  con 
version.  But  his  firmness  never  for  a  moment  gave 
wTay.  "  None  of  these  things  moved  him,  and  he  lived 
not  only  to  see  the  finger  of  scorn  which  had  been 
pointed  at  him  withdrawn,  and  to  hear  the  voice  of 
obloquy  that  had  been  raised  against  him  die  away,  but 
to  know  that  his  course  had  met  the  approbation  of  the 
wise  and  good  everywhere ;  to  receive  in  some  in 
stances,  the  hearty  acknowledgments  of  those  who  had 
been  among  his  most  active  opponents." 

The  mental  and  moral  qualities  thus  exhibited,  emi 
nently  fitted  him  for  the  trying  scenes  of  1837-8.  On 
account  of  the  peculiar  position  of  the  Auburn  Seminary, 
as  related  to  the  Synods  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
especially  to  that  of  Geneva,  all  eyes  were,  during  these 
years,  turned  to  Dr.  Richards.  Well  did  he  bear  their 
scrutiny.  He  greatly  deplored  the  division  of  the 
Church,  while,  with  clear  exactness,  he  set  forth  the  theo 
logical  tenets  of  the  congregations  by  which  he  was  sur 
rounded  ;  and  in  so  doing,  unconsciously  contributed  even 
then,  to  that  reunion  which  he  was  never  to  see  unless 
through  eyes  celestial.  He  retained  at  once  the  confi 
dence  of  those  with  whom  the  division  left  him,  and  the 
respect  of  those  from  whom  he  parted.  He  never  liked 
the  characteristic  titles  by  which  the  severed  bodies 
were  distinguished.  An  aged  woman  and  former  pa 
rishioner,  once  asked  his  wife,  in  his  hearing,  whether  he 
were  a  New  School,  or  an  Old  School  man.  She  referred 
the  question  to  him,  and  received  the  reply  :  "  My  dear, 
I  hope  I  belong  to  the  school  of  Christ." 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  215 

It  is  not  pretended  that  a  careful  reader  of  his  writ 
ings  will  approve  every  sentence  or  sentiment ;  but  the 
judgment  of  any  one  whose  mind  is  as  fair  as  his,  may 
be  relied  upon  to  pronounce  him  safe,  judicious,  and 
sound  —  a  man  whose  memory  as  a  Presbyterian,  the 
whole  Church  may  cherish  with  veneration  and  love. 

His  portrait  fitly  adorns  the  opening  of  this  chapter 
of  a  Reunion  Memorial,  as  that  of  one  who  both  by  life 
and  character,  reminds  us  that  we  are  to  be  neither  of 
Paul,  nor  of  Apollos,  nor  of  Cephas,  but  of  CUEIST. 

Closely  associated  with  Dr.  Richards,  both  as  pupil, 
and  as  fellow-teacher,  was  Dr.  HENRY  MILLS.  He  was 
born  at  Morristown,  N.J.,  in  1786,  and  graduated  at 
the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  1802.  For  some  years 
after  his  graduation,  he  was  occupied  in  teaching,  and 
in  the  enjoyment  of  such  forms  of  culture  as  prepared 
him  for  the  principal  work  of  his  life.  His  theological 
studies  were  directed  by  Dr.  Richards,  then  at  Newark. 
In  1816,  he  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Woodbridge,  N.  J.  As  a 
preacher,  his  style  was  simple,  warm  and  pure.  His 
sermons  were  elevated  and  spiritual.  Possessed  of  a 
rich  vein  of  humor,  which  often  betrayed  itself  in  his 
conversation,  he  was  serious  and  tender  in  the  pulpit. 
True  humor  often  gives  tone  to  pathos,  when  no  one 
except  a  mental  analyst  would  suspect  its  influence. 
The  discourses  of  Dr.  Mills  were  carefully  written ;  yet 
often  supplemented  by  extemporaneous  remarks,  through 
which,  with  great  earnestness  and  deep  feeling,  he 
roused  or  melted  the  hearts  of  his  hearers. 

As  a  scholar,  his  attainments  were  unusual  for  the 


21C  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

period  at  which  his  active  life  began.  He  was  led  to 
the  study  of  the  Hebrew  language  while  yet  undeter 
mined  as  to  his  professional  life.  He  was  already  so 
well  prapared  for  the  duties  of  Professor  of  Biblical 
Criticism,  that  when  the  Seminary  was  founded  at 
Auburn,  he  was  invited  to  the  discharge  of  those  duties 
in  that  institution.  He  accepted  the  invitation,  and  for 
many  years  instructed  his  classes  with  all  a  scholar's 
tastes  and  enthusiasm.  In  1854,  he  resigned  his  post, 
because  of  physical  disability ;  but  wore  the  honorable 
title  of  Professor  Emeritus  until  his  death,  in  18(37.  He 
Avas  poet  as  well  as  scholar ;  and  published  a  small  vol 
ume  of  translations  from  the  German,  in  1845.  Few 
have  contributed  more,  or  with  less  ostentation,  to  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  Church,  which  he  loved  with 
fervent,  if  not  with  demonstrative,  affection. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  teachers  in  Union  The 
ological  Seminary  was  Dr.  HENRY  WHITE.*  We  retain 
a  vivid  remembrance  of  him  as  he  appeared  in  the  class 
room.  Tall  and  erect,  his  figure  was  rounded  by  no  su 
perfluous  tissue.  His  hair,  prematurely  gray,  was  a 
"  crown  of  glory."  His  face  was  thin,  and  his  eyes, 
remarkable  for  brilliancy,  burned  like  the  lights  of  a 
Pharos.  And  as  a  Pharos,  he  stood  above  the  shoals 
of  theological  speculation.  Whoever  sailed  by  him, 
avoided  wreck.  His  was  a  steady  warning  to  keep  the 
open  sea,  or  to  anchor  in  the  roadstead.  He  had  little 
sympathy  with  that  class  of  minds  which  love  most  the 
dangerous  places  of  theological  study.  Not  that  he 
would  leave  such  places  unsounded,  unsurveyed ;  but 

*  Born  in  Durham,  Greene  County  N.Y.,  June  19th,  1800. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  217 

that  lie  distrusted  the  fascinations  which  such  places 
have  for  the  venturesome  and  the  curious.  His  system 
was  pre-eminently  clear  and  simple.  His  aim  was  to 
teach  what  he  himself  had  learned  from  the  Bible  as  a 
revelation.  That  which  the  Scriptures  did  not  reveal,  he 
was  not  anxious  to  explain.  His  terminology  was  no 
more  obscure  than  were  his  thoughts.  He  never  found 

o 

it  necessary  to  invent  a  word  to  express  his  meaning. 
He  peculiarly  disliked  the  mists  of  German  philosophy, 
by  which  the  students  of  his  day  were  often  befogged. 
To  him  there  was  little  more  than  despair  in  the  cele 
brated  exclamation  of  Hegel,  "  But  one  man  in  the  world 
understands  me,  and  he  misunderstands  me."  Perhaps 
he  did  not  give  the  thinkers  of  the  trascendental  school 
the  credit  which  was  justly  their  due.  He  believed 
that  many  of  their  novel  and  seemingly  vast  ideas  were 
like  the  spectres  of  the  Brocken,  —  images  of  them 
selves,  projected  on  a  cloud.  He  encouraged  discussion 
in  the  lecture-room,  drew  it  out  often  by  ingenious  meth 
ods.  And  whenever  a  subtle  doubt  or  distinction  was 
advanced,  he  listened  with  patience.  Every  "  difficulty  " 
was  considered  with  candor.  If  it  was  real,  it  was  dis 
cussed  with  discriminating  ability.  If  it  was  a  trap,  he 
was  sure  to  spring  it  upon  him  who  set  it.  He  pos 
sessed  great  powers  of  sarcasm,  and  was  master  of  the 
reductio  ad  absurdum.  If  the  students  ever  held  their 
breath  while  one  of  their  number  assumed  a  position 
which  was  ingenious,  but  untenable,  they  generally  re 
covered  it  as  the  professsor  made  answer,  and  saluted 
the  unlucky  student,  as  his  argument  suddenly  disap 
peared,  with  a  hearty  burst  of  laughter. 

With  Dr.  White  theology  was  an  eminently  practi- 


218  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

cal  science.  He  well  knew  what  practical  use  could  be 
made  of  it,  for  he  had  himself  been  a  successful  preacher 
and  pastor.  He  was  graduated  at  Union  College  in  1824, 
with  higli  honor,  having  especially  distinguished  him 
self  in  the  departments  of  mathematics  and  philosophy. 
He  then  pursued  his  theological  studies  at  Princeton. 
His  only  pastorate  was  in  the  Allen  Street  Church,  New 
York,  over  which  he  was  installed  during  the  winter  of 
1827-8,  and  where  he  remained  until  he  was  elected 
Professor  of  Theology  in  Union  Seminary  at  the  time  of 
its  founding,  — 1836. 

His  preaching  was  remarkably  lucid  and  strong. 
"There  was  one  class  of  topics,"  says,  President  Asa 
D.  Smith,  "  that  relating  to  the  guilty  and  lost  condi 
tion  of  the  sinner  and  his  obligation  to  immediate  re- 

O 

pentance,  in  the  handling  of  which  he  had,  in  my  judg 
ment,  few  living  equals.  I  have  heard  strains  of  dis 
course  from  him  which  seemed  to  me,  in  their  awful, 
overwhelming  impressiveness,  more  like  that  wonderful 
sermon  of  President  Edwards  on  '  The  Justice  of  God 
in  the  Damnation  of  Sinners,'  than  aught  I  remember 
to  have  heard  from  the  lips  of  man."  Yet  he  had 
withal  such  kindness  of  nature,  such  sympathy  with 
the  imperilled,  such  an  abiding  confidence  in  Christ  as 
the  sinner's  ref  us;e,  that  he  won  while  he  alarmed.  Like 

o   / 

McCheyne,  he  preached  terrible  truths  "  tenderly."  And 
the  result  was  manifest ;  as  daring  the  eight  years  of 
his  pastorate  he  received  into  his  church  about  four 
hundred  persons,  nearly  half  of  them  on  profession  of 
their  faith.  He  was  no  "  legalist,"  in  the  opprobrious 
sense  of  that  term.  His  own  experience  had  taught 
him  the  preciousness  of  the  Saviour.  "  Oh,  the  unspeak- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  219 

able  preciousness  of  the  atonement  by  the  blood  of 
Christ !  "  cried  he,  when  dying.  "  I  have  preached  it 
for  years,  and  taught  others  to  preach  it,  and  now  I 
know  its  worth."  If  Sinai  thundered  from  his  pulpit, 
the  light  of  the  Cross  also  beamed  there,  like  that  of  the 
seven  lamps  which  burned  with  steady  radiance  amid 
the  flashes  of  the  apocalyptic  vision  of  the  Throne. 
Circling  about  all  the  symbols  of  terror  was  the  sign 
of  mercy  —  the  "  rainbow,  in  sight  like  unto  an  emerald." 
The  love  and  the  reverence  of  all  who  sat  at  his  feet 
attest  the  success  with  which  he  employed  and  in 
structed  others  to  employ,  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel. 
He  was  still  hi  the  vigor  of  manhood  when  he  died, 
but  ready  to  be  unclothed  and  clothed  upon.  During 
the  last  year  of  his  earthly  life,  which  closed  in  1850, 
he  supplied  the  pulpit  of  the  Sixteenth  Street  Presby 
terian  Church,  in  New  York,  and  there  preached  not  only 
with  the  power  but  also  with  the  success  of  his  earlier 
days,  using  old  weapons,  repeating  old  victories. 

One  of  Dr.  White's  associates  in  the  Seminary  was 
that  truly  great  Biblical  student  and  scholar,  Dr.  ED- 
TV  AED  ROBLXSOX."'  Of  him,  also,  we  retain  inefface 
able  memories.  Unlike  Dr.  White  in  person,  he  was  of 
massive,  almost  heavy  frame.  His  prominent  eyes  would 
have  denoted  to  a  phrenologist  an  extraordinary  gift  of 
language.  Yet  with  all  his  taste  for,  and  facility  in  the 
acquirement  of  foreign  tongues,  he  was  by  no  means 
fluent  in  speech.  This  was  due,  perhaps,  to  his  habits 
of  critical  investigation.  He  was  never  a  preacher,  and 
his  instructions  were  not  given  with  the  freedom  of 

*  Born  in  Southington,  Conn.,  April  10th,  1794. 


220  PRESBYTEEIAN 


one  accustomed  to  popular  address.     The  little  peculari- 

ties  of  manner  which  one  remembers  as  individual  si^ns, 

o     > 

were  those  which  would  be  brought  from  the  study,— 
the  tapping  of  the  lips  with  the  finger,  —  the  abstracted 
rolling  of  the  pencil  in  the  palm  of  the  hand,  while 
some  question  of  exegesis  was  explained. 

To  eulogize  him  as  a  scholar,  would  be  superfluous. 
His  merits  have  been  acknowledged  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic.  He  never  sought  distinction,  yet  fame 
made  haste  to  celebrate  his  worth.  In  his  experience 
was  illustrated  the  sentiment  of  the  Latin  historian, 
"  He  who  slights  fame  shall  enjoy  it  in  its  purity." 

He  entered  Hamilton  College  in  1812,  while  that  in 
stitution  was  an  outlying  post  of  civilization.  From 
the  first  he  was  the  leader  of  his  class.  Leaving  col- 

O 

lege,  he  commenced  the  study  of  civil  law  ;  but  soon 
abandoned  it  for  the  more  congenial  pursuit  of  letters. 
In  1821,  we  find  him  in  Andover,  Mass.,  publishing  an 
edition  of  the  Iliad  of  Homer,  with  a  Latin  introduc 
tion.  While  thus  occupied,  he  turns  his  attention  to 
Hebrew,  and  masters  it  so  rapidly  that  in  1823  he  is  ap 
pointed  instructor  in  that  language  in  the  Theological 
Seminary.  Prof.  Moses  Stuart  was  then  in  the  zenith 
of  his  popularity.  Comparison  with  him  was  inevita 
ble.  But  the  younger  teacher  suffered  nothing  from 
contrast  with  the  elder.  Less  brilliant  than  Prof.  Stu 
art,  he  was  soon  regarded  as  more  safe.  Less  enthusiastic 

'  O 

and  "  electric,"  he  was  confided  in  as  more  exact  and 
thorough.  The  two  worked  well  together.  One  kindled 
the  interest  of  the  student  in  a  study  which  is  not  gen 
erally  attractive  ;  the  other  gave  him  the  precise  analy 
sis  of  the  passage  he  was  seeking  to  elucidate. 


CHURCH  OF  THE  COVENANT,  NEW  YORK. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  221 

But  Hebrew  never  was  the  chosen  language  of  Dr. 
Eobinson.  He  always  preferred  the  Greek;  and  de 
voted  himself  peculiarly  to  the  unfolding  of  its  treas 
ures,  especially  as  found  in  the  mines  of  the  New  Tes 
tament. 

After  remaining  in  Andover  three  years,  he  repaired 
to  Europe  for  wider  opportunities  of  study  than  this 
country  afforded.  He  spent  four  years  abroad,  residing 
mainly  at  Halle  and  Berlin,  and  enjoying  an  intimate 
association  with  such  scholars  as  Gesenius,  Tholuck, 
Rodiger,  and  Neander.  In  1830,  he  returned  to  Ando 
ver,  where  he  received  the  appointment  of  "  Professor 
Extraordinary  of  Sacred  Literature,  and  Librarian." 

In  1837,  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  Professor  of 
Biblical  Literature  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
on  the  express  condition  that  before  entering  upon  the 
duties  of  the  professorship,  he  should  be  permitted  to 
spend  three  or  four  years  in  exploring  Bible  lands,  espe 
cially  the  Sinaitic  Desert  and  Palestine.  The  results  of 
this  exploration,  published  in  three  volumes,  gave  him 
immediate  rank  as  a  scholar  and  a  scientific  discoverer. 
The  gold  medal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of 
London  was  awarded  him.  The  University  of  Halle 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  and 
Yale  College  that  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  After  entering 
upon  his  duties  in  the  Union  Seminary,  he  continued  to 
discharge  them,  except  as  they  were  interrupted  by 
subsequent  travel,  until  his  death,  in  January,  1863. 
He  made  a  second  tour  to  Palestine,  in  1852,  and  after 
wards  published  an  additional  volume  of  his  "  Re 
searches."  He  visited  Germany,  for  relief  from  disease 
in  1861,  and  died  January  27,  1863. 


222  PRESBYTERIAN   EEUNION. 

His  literary  labors  were  incessant  and  varied,  yet 
always  those  of  the  Biblical  scholar.  He  was  the  foun 
der  of  both  the  Biblical  Repository  and  the  Biblioiheca 
Sacra  /  and  his  contributions  to  both  are  of  permanent 
value.  His  Greek  Harmony  of  the  Gospels  was  a  great 
improvement  upon  that  of  any  one  who  had  attempted 
that  work  before  him.  For  his  Greek  and  English 
Lexicon  of  the  New  Testament,  there  is  as  yet  no  read 
ily  accessible  substitute. 

As  an  exegete,  he  was  critical,  yet  reverent.  He  never 
sacrificed  the  truth  to  an  accent  or  a  particle.  His  views 
of  inspiration  were  well-defined,  and  consistently  applied. 
In  this  respect,  he  was  remarkable,  —  seeming  the  more 
so,  when  we  consider  the  wide  ranges  of  scholarship 
over  which  he  travelled.  It  is  a  prevailing  complaint 
of  those  who  pursue  their  studies  in  foreign  lands,  that 
they  become  unsoundly  "  broad  "  in  their  opinions.  Dr. 
Robinson  was  catholic,  but  never  careless.  He  never 
caught  that  critical  spirit  which  interprets  the  Bible  as 
Neibuhr  and  others  after  him  interpreted  Roman  history. 
He  did  not  suspect  fables  in  Genesis,  because  the  story 
of  Romulus  and  Remus  was  doubted.  He  never  ran 
the  knife  through  the  threads  of  Revelation,  that,  first 
destroying,  he  might  then  explain  it.  He  was  sufii- 
ciently  "  scientific  "  to  recognize  the  difference  between 
the  natural  and  the  supernatural  elements  of  the  Scrip 
tures;  but  not  so  scientific  as  to  reject  the  supernatu 
ral.  He  did  not  find  a  miracle  where  no  miracle  was 
recorded,  but  he  resolved  no  miracle  into  a  myth.  The 
essential  truths  of  the  Bible  were  all  illumined  by  his 
investigations ;  they  were  never  dimmed.  It  would  be 
an  occasion  of  unfailing  regret  that  he  died  without 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  223 

leaving  us  a  solitary  commentary,  had  he  not  given  to 
Christian  scholars  such  abundant  materials  for  indepen 
dent  conclusions.  His  Lexicon  is  of  more  value  to  the 
student  than  most,  or  than  many  commentaries.  It  is 
easy  to  see  that  such  a  mind  and  heart  must  have  ex 
erted  a  powerful  formative  influence  upon  the  Church, 
through  those  whom  he  moulded  and  quickened.  It  is 
not  so  easy  to  trace  that  influence  to  its  limits.  Om 
niscience  only  can  follow  the  lines  of  light,  the  pulsa 
tions  of  the  air,  the  transformations  of  moisture,  or  the. 
vital  forces  which  go  out  and  on  from  a  great  and  sanc 
tified  human  soul. 

It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  determine  whether  Dr. 
LYMAN  BEECHER*  should  be  classed  among  the  instruc 
tors  or  the  preachers  of  our  Church.  Logically,  his 
place  in  this  record  would  be  among  the  instructors ; 
for  his  direct  connections  with  the  Presbyterian  Church 
were  formed  in  the  year  1832,  by  his  acceptance  of  the 
office  of  Preside  at  and  Professor  of  Theology  in  Lane 
Theological  Seminary.  Yet,  at  nearly  the  same  time, 
he  took  his  place  among  our  pastors,  by  his  installation 
over  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Cincinnati,  in 
1833.  On  the  whole,  considering  his  mental  habits  and 
peculiarities,  we  should  class  him  among  the  preachers, 
and  assign  him  a  rank  second  to  that  of  none.  He  was  a 
man  of  genius,  and  of  an  individuality  most  marked. 
Genius  always  develops  itself  most  perfectly  in  some 
single  line.  Michael  Angelo  is  great  in  art,  Milton 
in  poetry.  Neander  had  genius  as  a  professor,  none  at 

*  Son  of  David  Beecher.     Born  at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  October  12th,  1775. 
Died  at  Brooklyn,  January  10th,  1803. 


224  PKESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

all  as  an  orator.  One  might  compare  Neander  with 
Dr.  Beecher,  when  rehearsing  odd  stories  of  the  ab 
stracted  ways  of  either.  Either  might  appear  in  the 
morning  with  a  slipper  on  one  foot,  and  a  boot  on  the 
other.  Neander  was  never  presentable  except  through 
his  sister's  care.  Dr.  Beecher  had  often  to  submit  to 
adjustment  by  female  hands,  when  he  rushed  from  his 
study  with  a  hopeless-looking  manuscript,  as  the  last 
stroke  of  the  church-bell  died  away.  But,  unlike  Nean- 
der,  Dr.  Beecher  was  a  preacher  in  grain.  He  was  still 
preacher  when  he  attempted  the  duties  of  professor. 
Neander  steadily  read  from  his  manuscript,  twirling  a 
quill  —  the  symbol  of  his  power  —  in  his  fingers.  Dr. 
Beecher  broke  often  impulsively  away  from  his  manu 
script,  and  preached  to  his  students  as  if  the  "great 
congregation  "  was  before  him.  His  feelings  were  per 
petually  breaking  through  the  methods  of  his  intellect 
and  naming  out  in  unpremeditated  eloquence.  He  was 
already  a  preacher  by  constitution,  while,  yet  a  lad, 
he  discouraged  his  uncle,  Lot  Ben  ton,  in  all  attempts 
to  teach  him  the  mysteries  of  the  plow.  He  went  to 
college  expecting  to  be  a  preacher.  He  took  notes  of 
Dr.  Dwight's  sermons,  "  condensing  and  making  skele 
tons,"  with  all  a  preacher's  instincts,  though,  as  yet, 
unconverted.  His  earliest  attempt  at  literary  composi 
tion  was  an  argument  against  Tom  Paine's  infidelities. 

o  O 

He  discovered  the  fallacy  of  Samuel  Clark's  famous  ar 
gument  for  the  being  of  a  God,  even  while  praising 
the  ingenuity  with  which  his  schoolmate,  Roger  Sher 
man,  defended  the  fallacy.  He  was  always  ready  for 
discussion,  and  always  characteristic  in  his  treatment  of 
the  subjects  he  debated.  He  was  not  without  method 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  225 

in  liis  thinking ;  yet  method  was  not  his  distinguishing 
peculiarity.  Ideas  lay  in  his  mind  in  a  state  of  fusion. 
His  favorite  definition  of  eloquence,  was,  "  logic  afire ;  " 
and  he  exemplified  his  definition.  Some  men  first  refine 
their  thoughts  by  mental  heats,  then  coin  them.  He, 
not  unfrequently,  poured  his  out  hot  from  the  crucible. 
He  is  said  to  have  been,  like  other  great  preachers,  oc 
casionally  dull.  If  so,  it  was  because  at  such  times  the 
furnace  did  not  draw.  In  his  more  common  moods,  he 
was  any  thing  but  dull.  Very  seldom  could  the  sar 
casm  of  Heinrich  Heine  be  applied  to  what  he  spoke 
or  penned,  — 

"  I  was  reading  this  book,  and  fell  asleep.  I  dreamt 
that  I  went  on  with  the  reading,  and  three  times  I  was 
waked  up  by  its  tediousness." 

Such  a  man  as  this  will  always  be  both  understood 
and  misunderstood.  The  intensity  of  his  convictions, 
and  of  the  language  in  which  they  are  expressed,  will 
be  such  that  he  will  neglect  some  proper  qualifications 
of  his  thought,  or  purposely  leave  them  for  the  hearer 
or  reader ;  believing  that  the  impression  of  a  thought 
is  often  weakened  by  encumbering  it  with  related 
thoughts.  Hence  he  will  need  to  make  many  explana 
tions  to  those  who  think  he  has  slighted  some  qualify 
ing  idea.  Some  will  say  that  he  is  "  no  theologian," 
while  few  theologians  "  to  the  manner  born  "  will  exert 
an  immediate  influence  so  penetrative  and  powerful  Dr. 
Beecher  could  be  exact  in  his  statements,  but  we  must 
judge  him  by  the  laws  of  his  individuality.  Had  he 
been  of  cooler  temperament,  and  of  more  cautious 
habit,  he  would  have  been  less  effective.  The  discus 
sions  of  the  period  of  the  division  would  not  have  cir- 

15 


226  PKESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

cled  so  swiftly  about  him  ;  but  lie  would  have  been  far 
less  of  a  man. 

To  rehearse  those  discussions,  or  to  make  an  analysis 
of  Dr.  Beecher's  views  at  this  time,  is  not  within  our 
province.  We  are  unwilling  to  disturb  even  the  echoes 
of  the  past.  Indeed,  there  is  now  but  little  dispute  that 
though  he  made  himself  generally  understood  through 
some  tribulation,  he  was  substantially  in  accord  with 
those  Church  standards  of  which  he  considered  himself 
representative  and  defender. 

His  great  purpose  in  life  was  to  move  men  rather 
than  to  mould  them.  Individual  himself,  he  did  not 
care  to  fashion  men  after  other  patterns  than  were  de 
signed  for  them  by  Him  who  planned  their  lives. 

He  would  move  all  men  so  that  they  should  become 
disciples  of  the  Lord.  Thus  by  choice,  as  well  as  by 
nature  and  grace,  he  became  a  revival  preacher.  He 
went  to  Lane  Theological  Seminary,  avowedly  to  make 
it  a  "  revival  institution."  He  was  attracted  to  the 
West  by  the  ardent  natures  which  there  awaited  him. 
He  thought  of  the  victories  to  be  achieved  for  Christ 

o  . 

among  those  who  had  carried  the  enterprise  of  the  emi 
grant  into  what  he  foresaw  would  be  the  heart  of  the 

nation.     He  longed  to-be  amono;  the  earliest  in  the  COn- 
ta  o 

flict.  No  other  call  of  duty  could  have  drawn  him  from 
his  post  at  Boston,  where  he  seemed  to  be  accomplish 
ing  more  than  any  other  man  could  have  done. 

It  must  be  conceded  that  the  effect  he  produced  upon 
the  preaching  of  his  time,  was  signal  and  wide-reach 
ing.  Methods  of  preaching  change  with  the  changing 
generations.  If  to-day  the  pulpit  is  characterized  by 
more  eloquence,  by  more  "  logic  afire  "  than  it  was  fifty 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  227 

years  ago,  it  is  partly  because  of  Dr.  Beecher's  influ 
ence.  So,  also,  as  to  prevailing  forms  of  theological 
thought  and  expression ;  Dr.  Beecher's  marks  are  upon 
these,  though  he  has  left  but  little  which  will  be  long 
associated  with  his  name  in  the  ranges  of  theological 
literature.  His  earthly  immortality  is  not  in  print  and 
binding.  His  works  will  not  go  into  the  permanent 
stock  of  booksellers,  but  his  influences  are  abiding.  In 
Litchfield  as  an  advocate  of  temperance  and  an  earnest 
preacher  of  the  Gospel;  in  Boston  as  a  corrector  of 
pernicious  doctrinal  errors  ;  in  Cincinnati  as  intent  upon 
the  salvation  of  souls,  —  he  was  like  Elisha,  casting  salt 
into  corrupted  waters.  The  salt  was  lost  to  sight,  but 
the  fountains  were  "  healed."  He  left  to  others  the  not 
less  useful  work  of  laying  the  enduring  curb-stones  about 
the  fountains'  rims. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  a  perfect  portraiture  of  Dr. 
Beecher.  We  have  not  attempted  that  of  wThich  his 
own  children  despaired.  They  sketched  him,  indeed, 
from  various  sides  and  in  various  moods;  but  condemned 
each  sketch  as  faint  and  feeble.  His  connection  with 
Lane  Seminary  continued  through  a  period  of  twenty 
years.  He  was  faithful  to  it.  He  gave  it  all  he  had  - 
himself.  He  gained  for  it  many  friends  and  no  incon 
siderable  endowments.  He  saved  it  in  a  time  of  ex 
treme  depression.  He  left  it,  having  accomplished  for 
and  by  it,  if  not  all  he  hoped,  yet  more  than  a  less  san 
guine  spirit  than  his  could  have  ever  expected. 

Among  the  most  appreciative  friends  of  Dr.  Beecher, 
and  closely  associated  with  him  in  the  discharge  of  pas 
toral  duty  while  in  Cincinnati,  was  Dr.  THOMAS  BRAIN- 


228  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

EED.  Like  Dr.  Beecher,  lie  sprang  from  Puritan  stock. 
He  was  a  member  of  a  family  already  rendered  illus 
trious  by  the  labors  of  that  devoted  missionary,  David 
Brainerd,  and  of  his  not  less  devoted  brother  John. 
He  inherited  many  of  the  qualities  which  braced  and 
gave  tone  to  the  characters  of  these  missionaries.  He 
was  born  in  Lewis  county,  New  York,  in  1804.  "  Chang 
ing  the  sky  "  did  not,  at  this  period,  change  "  the  mind  " 
of  New  England  families.  Dr.  Brainerd  was  carefully 
nurtured  in  Puritan  habits.  His  academic  training  was 
thorough.  His  early  purpose  was  to  enter  the  legal 
profession ;  and  with  this  in  view,  he  devoted  some  time 
to  legal  studies.  But  after  being  partially  fitted  for  ad 
mission  to  the  Bar,  he  abandoned  these  studies  and  en 
gaged  in  the  duties  of  teacher  at  Philadelphia.  There 
he  became  a  member  of  Dr.  James  Patterson's  Church, 
and  formed  an  intimacy  with  him  which  was  terminated 
only  by  the  death  of  that  eccentric  but  useful  man.  He 
remained  in  Philadelphia  at  this  time  but  about  a  year ; 
then  repaired  to  Andover  to  study  for  the  ministry. 
Soon  after  his  graduation,  in  1831,  he  went  to  Cincin 
nati,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian 
Church  in  that  city.  This  position  he  resigned  at  the 
expiration  of  two  years  for  the  editor's  chair,  and  con 
ducted  the  Cincinnati  Journal  and  the  Youttis  Maga 
zine  nearly  four  years.  During  this  period  it  was  that 
he  became  associated  with  Dr.  Beecher  in  the  labors  of 
the  pulpit  in  the  Second  Church.  In  1837  he  left  Cin 
cinnati  to  take  charge  of  the  Pine  Street  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Philadelphia,  and  remained  in  this  pastorate 
until  his  death,  in  18G6.  His  relations  to  the  New 
School  Church  continued  therefore  through  nearly  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  229 

whole  period  of  its  independent  existence.  And  no 
one  was  more  thoroughly  identified  with  it,  or  more  sin 
cerely  devoted  to  its  interests. 

He  was  a  man  of  remarkable  personal  influence. 
Without  the  intense  nature  of  Dr.  Beecher,  he  had  not 
a  little  of  that  magnetic  force  which  in  Dr.  Beecher 
was  so  great.  Without  enjoying  the  culture  of  col 
leges,  he  was  better  disciplined  than  are  many  college 
graduates.  He  possessed  by  nature,  or  acquired  by 
taste,  what  some  students  never  obtain.  Sidney  Smith 
speaks  of  a  friend  into  whose  brain  you  could  get  a 
joke  only  by  a  surgical  operation.  Something  like  this 
may  be  said  respecting  scholarly  habits  of  thought  and 
speech  in  the  case  of  those  who  have  no  natural  apti 
tude  for  them.  Dr.  Brainerd  had  the  gift  of  mastery 
over  his  mother-tongue,  and  used  it  as  not  abusing  it. 
He  had  an  uncommon  fluency  of  speech,  and  his  com 
mand  of  language  was  well  nigh  perfect.  The  choicest 
expressions  came  instantly  to  his  lips.  Sometimes  quaint, 
he  was  never,  like  Dr.  Patterson,  grotesque.  His  sen 
tences  did  not  coruscate  like  Dr.  Beecher's;  but  they 
flowed  like  a  pleasant,  and  sometimes  sparkling,  stream. 
"  From  the  lips  of  no  one,"  says  Albert  Barnes,  "could 
fall  more  pertinent  and  fit  words,  more  complete  sen 
tences,  more  beautiful  figures,  more  striking  illustrations. 
In  description,  in  statement,  in  argument,  in  warning, 
in  appeal,  in  invective,  his  language  presented  the  best 
forms  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue."  He  was  peculiarly 
happy  in  extemporary  address.  His  congregation  often 
expected  most,  when  on  rising  to  address  them  he  de 
clared  himself  least  prepared. 

He  never  lost  those  tastes  of  the  editor  which  were 


230  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

exercised,  not  formed,  in  Cincinnati.  We  say  "not 
formed,"  for  they  were  inborn.  "  No  man,"  says  one 
of  distinguished  authority,  "  can  be  a  successful  editor, 
unless  printer's  ink  beats  in  his  veins  instead  of  blood." 
Dr.  Brainerd  would  have  been  successful  had  he  de 
voted  his  life  to  the  periodical  press.  He  would  some 
times  write  for  the  journals  of  Philadelphia,  and  always 
in  a  fresh  and  vivid  style.  A  few  articles  from  his  pen 
appeared  in  the  American  Presbyterian  and  Theologi 
cal  Review,  whose  origin  was  due  to  a  council  of  which 
he  was  a  member.  He  has  left  us  no  volume  except 
the  Life  of  Jolin  Brainerd,  a  book  whose  style  is  of 
rare  felicity. 

As  a  Pastor,  Dr.  Brainerd  was  almost  unsurpassed. 
He  was  on  terms  of  affectionate  intimacy  with  the  f am. 
ilies  of  his  flock,  —  such  intimacy  that,  if  his  visits  were 
ever  unexpected,  they  were  never  unwelcome.  He  was 
almost  as  likely  to  appear  unheralded  at  the  breakfast- 
table  of  a  parishioner,  as  at  his  tea-table,  thus  varying 
the  pleasure  of  an  early  morning  ride  by  that  of  social 
intercourse  and  influence.  He  made  even  casual  ac 
quaintances  feel  that  they  were  his  friends.  He  was 
beloved  by  the  young,  into  whose  sympathies  he  entered 
with  all  the  freshness  of  youth.  No  decay  of  physi 
cal  vigor  ever  affected  his  heart  or  checked  its  perennial 
streams.  To  the  very  last  his  church  was  a  favorite  re 
sort  for  young  men.  He  never  failed  of  their  co-opera 
tion  in  all  his  purposes  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church 
and  of  society. 

In  ecclesiastical  matters  he  was  always  among  the 
foremost.  He  took  a  special  interest  in  the  work  of 
Church  Extension  in  Philadelphia.  The  founding  of 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  231 

three  of  the  most  important  churches  in  the  city  was 
due  in  no  small  degree  to  his  influence.  The  interests 
of  his  denomination  were  always  near  his  heart ;  but 
he  was  never  offensively  a  denominationalist.  The 
whole  city  respected,  revered,  was  proud  of  him.  The 
nation  had  his  sympathy  in  its  darkest  days.  He  was 
among  the  most  active  of  those  who  contributed  to  the 
comfort  of  our  soldiers,  as  during  the  late  civil  contest 
they  passed  through  the  city  or  lingered  in  its  hospitals. 
And  when  the  news  of  the  surrender  of  General  Lee 
thrilled  the  community  with  joy,  his  voice  it  was  which 
led  the  thanksgivings  of  the  multitude,  as  by  sponta 
neous  impulse  they  gathered  under  the  shadow  of  In 
dependence  Hall.  So  ardent  indeed  were  his  patriotic 
feelings,  so  incessant  were  his  patriotic  labors  during 
the  period  of  strife,  that  it  is  supposed  his  life  was  ma 
terially  shortened  by  their  exhaustions.  He  officiated 
in  his  pulpit  in  Pine  Street  for  the  last  time,  July  8, 
1866.  His  text  on  this  occasion  was,  "  Abide  with  us, 
for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  far  spent."  A 
little  more  than  a  month  after  this  the  evening  fell,  the 
day  was  over,  and  he  passed  "  through  night  to  light." 

Another  name,  well  known  in  the  annals  of  Presbyte- 
rianism,  and  associated  more  or  less  closely  with  that 
stronghold  of  the  Church,  Philadelphia,  is  that  of  Dur- 
FIELD.  During  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  George 
Duffield,  D.D.,  was  pastor  of  the  Third  or  Pine  Street 
Presbyterian  Church  in  this  city.  He  was  an  ardent 
patriot  as  well  as  an  efficient  minister,  and  officiated  as 
chaplain  of  the  Continental  Congress.  His  son  George 
was  for  many  years  Comptroller-General  of  the  State 


232  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

of  Pennsylvania,  and  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  He  resided  in  Strasburg,  Lancaster  county, 
where  his  son,  perpetuating  the  same  name,  was  born, 
July  4th,  1794.  This  GEORGE  DUFFIELD  is  the  subject 
of  our  present  sketch. 

In  the  line  of  the  Duffields,  fidelity  to  the  truth  for 
conscience  sake  was  conspicuous  for  many  generations. 
That  member  of  the  family  who  first  emigrated  to 
America,  left  Ireland  to  enjoy  Christian  liberty,  as  his 
ancestors  had  left  England  for  the  same  reason.  We 

O 

may  be  sure  that  nothing  was  lost  from  the  good  quali 
ties  of  the  Duffield  blood  when  the  father  of  our  pres 
ent  subject  married  Faithful  Slaymaker,  of  Huguenot 
extraction.  It  is  thought,  indeed,  that  her  son  inherited 
her  qualities,  rather  than  those  of  his  father. 

In  his  youth,  he  was  a  wayward  boy,  but  began  to 
regard  life  as  having  some  earnest  purpose,  while  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  which  he  was  graduated 
May  30th,  1811.  His  first  real  interest  in  religion  was 
occasioned  by  overhearing  the  conversation  of  two  godly 
women;  and  his  first  conviction  of  sin,  by  a  sermon 
preached  by  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  on  prayer.  The 
way  of  peace  he  found  long  and  difficult ;  but  was  led 
through  it,  so  that  soon  after  his  graduation  in  Phila 
delphia,  lie  repaired  to  New  York,  and  placed  himself 
for  theological  study,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason,  who,  with  great  interest,  directed  his  education 
for  the  ministry,  through  the  period  of  four  full  years. 
He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia, 
April  20th,  1815.  He  was  then  not  quite  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  but  he  had  been  subjected  to  a  somewhat 
rigorous  discipline  by  the  Presbytery,  under  whose  care 


BIOGEAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  233 

lie  had  been  for  three  years,  and  who,  at  every  semi 
annual  meeting  during  that  time,  examined,  him  on  reg 
ular  or  extra  "parts  of  trial."  The  great  questions 
pressed  upon  his  notice  were  such  as  these :  "  What  is 
saving  faith  in  Christ  ? "  "  What  is  the  grand  essential 
fact  to  be  believed  in  the  first  actings  of  saving  faith  ? " 
These  questions  were  specially  prominent  in  that  day, 
and  he  was  compelled  by  his. own  experiences,  as  well  as 
by  the  searching  examinations  of  Presbytery,  to  find  a 
clear  answer  to  them.  They  occasioned  him  much  spir 
itual  doubt  and  perplexity.  If  there  was  any  thing  in 
dividual  in  his  theological  views,  it  was  because  of  this 
discipline.  He  had  no  difficulty  in  accepting  the  fact, 
as  historically  proved,  that  Christ  died,  the  just  for  the 
unjust,  to  bring  us  to  God.  The  hard  point  to  solve, 
was,  "What  authority  have  I  to  believe  that  Christ 
died  for  me  as  a  person  ? "  It  was  solved  at  last  in 
the  conviction  that  the  offers  of  salvation  through 

O 

Christ  are  freely  made  to  all,  and  that  the  saving  act 
of  faith  is  first  of  all  an  appropriating  act,  by  which 
the  sinner  accepts  the  gift  as  extended  to,  and  meant 
for  him. 

"  This  appropriating  act  of  faith,  I  saw,  was  like  the 
hand  stretched  forth  to  take  the  free  gift,  and  make  it 
mine  in  possession  as  it  was  mine  in  the  offer.  This 
became  to  me  the  way  of  peace,  and  joy,  and  strength, 
and  holiness.  So  to  preach  the  riches  of  His  grace,  and 
so  to  press  upon  sinners  the  acceptance  of  Him  as  their 
personal  Saviour,  as  having  died  as  particularly  for  each 
one  as  He  did  in  general  for  all,  I  felt  before  my  licen- 
sure  to  be  the  way  to  preach  the  very  essence  and  mar 
row  of  the  Gospel.  The  Presbytery  at  Philadelphia 


234  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

tliouglit  tliat  in  so  doing,  I  taught  that  the  sinner  in  his 
first  actings  of  faith,  must  believe  that  he  is  one  of  the 
elect,  and  did  not  give  me  credit  for  the  distinction 
made  between  faith's  saying,  '  Christ  is  mine  in  God's 
gracious  offer,'  and  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  through 
conscious  dependence,  enabling  me  to  say,  '  He  is  mine 
in  actual  possession.'  Christ  formed  in  the  heart  the 
hope  of  glory."  * 

A  similar  difficulty  was  found  in  harmonizing  the  im 
mediate  obligation  of  the  sinner  to  believe  in  Christ, 
and  the  indispensable  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  in 
duce  and  enable  him  so  to  do.  This  difficulty  was  thus 
solved  :  "  Moral  corruption,  I  saw,  w^as  not  regarded  in 
the  Scriptures,  —  i.  e.,  viewed  in  the  light  of  their  defi 
nition  of  sin,  as  a  physical  entity  or  quality  at  all ;  but 
the  attribute  of  voluntary  moral  agents,  endowed  with 
adequate  capacities  for  moral  obligation,  and  justly  held 
responsible,  under  law,  for  obedience  to  God."  So  the 
agency  of  the  Spirit  in  regeneration,  was  never  "  a  phy 
sical  potency  or  an  irresistible  affiatus,"  but  a  "  power 
ful  motive  moral  force  brought  to  bear  upon  the  minds, 
consciences,  and  hearts  of  sinners,  through  the  truth  as 
revealed  by  Jesus  Christ." 

In  these  solutions,  he  believed  himself  to  be  sustained 
by  Scripture,  and  by  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
authorities  of  the  Church.  We  have  referred  to  them 
at  length,  because  they  constitute  the  distinctive  fea 
tures  of  his  preaching.  Their  definite  declaration  was 
accepted  by  Presbytery,  after  some  discussion  and  delay, 
both  at  the  time  of  his  licensure  and  at  that  of  his 

*  Sermon  delivered  at  the  installation  of  Rev.  W.  A.  McCorkle  as  his  asso 
ciate  in  Detroit. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  235 

ordination  and  installation  as  pastor  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  in 
1815. 

He  remained  at  Carlisle  nineteen  years.  He  was  then 
called  to  Philadelphia  to  succeed  the  Rev.  Dr.  Skinner, 
as  pastor  of  the  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church.  Two  years 
later  he  removed  to  New  York,  to  assume  the  pastorate 
of  the  Broadway  Tabernacle  Church.  But,  after  a  year 
spent  in  this  service,  he  accepted  the  call  of  the  First 
Presbyterian,  then  styled  "  Protestant "  Church,  in  De 
troit,  over  which  he  was  installed,  October,  1838.  Here 
he  remained  until  his  death,  June  26th,  1868. 

These  thirty  years  constituted  the  most  important 
and  fruitful  period  of  his  ministry.  His  influence  ex 
tended  over  the  whole  State  of  Michigan,  and  measur- 

O          ' 

ably  through  the  Church.  He  was  thoroughly  "pro- 
liounced  "  as  a  Presbyterian,  and  indefatigable  in  the 
promotion  of  the  interests  of  the  Gospel  through  his 
denomination.  He  was  zealous  in  the  work  of  domes 
tic  missions ;  he  was  abundant  in  labors,  making  use  of 
the  press,  as  well  as  of  the  pulpit ;  interesting  himself 
in  all  matters  of  local  importance ;  foremost  in  the  cause 
of  education,  of  temperance,  of  good  morals.  Scarcely  a 
man  in  Detroit  was  so  influential.  He  had  his  favorite 
ideas,  as  have  all  men  of  decided  individuality  ;  and  he 
so  impressed  those  ideas  upon  the  popular  mind  and 
heart,  that  one  will  often  hear  them  referred  to  as  stan 
dard  truths.  Yet  his  culture  was  unusually  broad  and 
rich.  He  was  thoroughly  skilled  in  the  use  of  the 
Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  French,  and  German  languages. 
He  was  a  careful  student  of  the  sciences,  and  so  mas 
tered  them  that  he  was  a  fit  companion  for  the  most 
scientific.  His  memory  was  unfailing,  and  his  fancy 


236  PEESBYTERIAN    REUJSTION. 

brilliant.  He  was  therefore  always  welcome  in  general 
society.  He  was  a  scholar  among  students,  a  savant 
among  philosophers,  a  political  economist  among  mer 
chants.  We  well  remember  being  in  Detroit,  a  few 
years  since,  when  a  new  building  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  was  formally  opened.  Dr.  Duffield  was  among 
the  most  prominent  in  the  exercises  of  the  occasion. 

As  a  Preacher,  he  was  vigorous,  logical,  persuasive. 
His  feelings  always  lay  so  near  the  surface,  that  they 
suffused  his  speech  at  a  touch.  As  a  Philanthropist,  he 
was  untiring.  As  a  Patriot,  he  was  worthy  of  his  ances 
try.  During  the  civil  war,  he  was  instrumental  in  the 
establishment  of  a  hospital,  and  was  among  the  most 
active  in  the  service  of  the  Christian  Commission.  lie 
was  never  old  in  spirit,  and  his  fire  was  never  phosphor 
escent.  We  do  but  feeble  justice  to  his  memory  in  these' 
unillumined  sentences. 

We  have  space  only  for  a  few  lines  respecting  his 
early  and  consistent  advocacy  of  Presbyterian  Reunion. 
He  spoke  upon  that  subject  in  the  Assembly  held  at 
Detroit,  in  1850,  and  was  a  recognized  leader  in  the  As 
sembly  held  at  Washington,  in  1852,  when  that  move 
ment  was  made  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of  a 
distinct  Committee  on  Home  Missions.  His  interest  in 
the  subject  took  him  to  St.  Louis,  and  also  to  Harris- 
burg.  He  intended  to  be  present  at  the  memorable 
Union  Convention,  held  in  Philadelphia,  but  was  provi 
dentially  detained.  He  watched  with  interest,  and 
aided  every  judicious  step  towards  the  consummation 
which  has  at  last  been  realized.  Whatever  may  be  or 
may  have  been  thought  of  his  peculiarities,  in  explain- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  237 

ing  or  impressing  our  doctrinal  symbols,  no  more  ardent 
friend  of  the  Church  can  be  specified ;  scarcely  any  one 
has  rendered  it  more  signal  service. 

He  died  as  he  had  wished  to  die,  "  in  the  harness." 
Delivering  an  address  before  the  International  Conven- 

O 

tion  of  the  Youn^r  Men's  Christian  Association  at  De- 

O 

troit,  June  24th,  1868,  he  suddenly  paused,  and  with  an 
exclamation  of  distress,  fell  into  the  arms  of  those  near 
est  him.  He  was  tenderly  borne  to  his  home,  and 
there,  two  days  afterward,  expired.  His  remains  were 
borne  to  the  cemetery  between  two  long  lines,  formed 
as  if  out  of  the  whole  population  of  the  city.  The 
mourners  literally  "  went  about  the  streets." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  even  a  partial  com 
pleteness  to  our  view  of  the  personal  influences  which 
have  given  tone  to  the  life  of  the  New  School  Church, 
without  definite  reference  to  the  efforts  of  those  who 
have  been  closely  identified  with  its  aggressive  work  on 
the  frontiers.  We  have  already  given  a  sketch  of  Dr. 
Blackburn,  the  pioneer  ;  but  his  influence  upon  the  mis 
sionary  spirit  of  the  Church  was  indirect.  The  name 
of  Dr.  ARTEMAS  BULLARD,  of  St.  Louis,  is  intimately 
associated  with  the  systematic  development  of  Presby 
terian  Home  Missions. 

Born  at  Northbridge,  Mass.,  June  3d,  1802,  he  was 
graduated  at  Amherst  College,  in  1826.  Fitted  by 
natural  qualities  for  a  life  of  enterprise,  he  was  early 
directed  by  Providence  into  lines  of  usefulness  in  which 
only  a  man  of  enterprise  could  be  successful.  In  him, 
energy  and  resolution  were  associated  with  a  sanguine 
temperament.  He  is  said  to  have  closely  resembled  in 


238  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

personal  appearance,  the  "  Old  Hickory  "  of  American 
Presidents.  He  certainly  resembled  him  in  character. 
His  perceptions  were  keen,  his  will  was  tenacious,  his 
mental  movements  were  quick,  and  his  sagacity  was  al 
most  unerring.  He  possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree, 
the  constructive  faculty,  and  marshalled  principles  or 
men  with  an  equal  facility.  His  frankness  sometimes 
gave  offence,  his  firmness  made  his  opposition  formid 
able.  He  had,  like  all  men  of  positive  character,  his 
troops  of  friends,  and  his  experience  of  enmity.  Yet 
none  of  his  opponents  could  ever  deny  him  the  praise  of 
sincerity  and  of  love  for  the  truth  and  the  Master. 

While  at  the  seminary  in  Andover  (1 .828),  he  pro 
posed  to  devote  himself  to  Foreign  Missions ;  but,  hav 
ing  formed  intimate  relations  with  Dr.  Cornelius,  and 
other  eminent  men  in  Boston,  he  was  prevailed  upon,  in 
1830,  to  visit  what  was  then  the  West,  in  the  service  of 
the  American  Sunday  School  Union.  He  travelled  on 
horseback,  as  far  as  the  State  of  Illinois ;  and  in  this 
service  displayed  such  qualities,  that  when  Dr.  Corne 
lius  was  suddenly  laid  aside,  he  was  urgently  solicited 
to  assume  the  arduous  duties  of  Secretary  of  the  A. B.C. 
F.M.,  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  He  accepted  the 
appointment,  and  for  some  years  travelled  over  his  wide 
field  from  Detroit  to  New  Orleans.  This  experience 
gave  him  not  only  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  West, 
but  also  an  ardent  sympathy  with  its  wants.  And  when 
in  1838,  he  was  invited  to  accept  the  pastorate  of  the 
only  Presbyterian  Church  in  St.  Louis,  he  felt  it  his 
duty  to  comply.  He  saw  in  the  position  to  which  he 
was  invited,  the  centre  of  an  influence  whose  bounds 
were  indefinitely  wide.  The  waste  places  were  on  every 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  239 

side.  He  knew  what  were  the  demands  of  the  Home 
Missionary  work,  and  what  the  sacrifices  of  the  Home 
Missionary.  He  could  aid  the  churches  of  the  wilder 
ness,  and  encourage  those  who  had  gone  or  might  be  in 
duced  to  go  to  the  scattered  flocks,  as  to  sheep  having 
no  shepherd.  He  could  assist  in  planting  new  churches 
and  do  much  to  develop  the  educational  interests  of  a 
new  and  broad  region.  He  threw  himself  into  his  new 
duties  with  characteristic  zeal.  He  was  the  faithful 
pastor  of  his  own  flock,  the  earnest  friend  of  every 
missionary  within  his  reach.  He  was  a  true  bishop, 
making  frequent  and  long  journeys  to  visit  the 
churches  which  naturally  turned  to  him  for  counsel  and 
help.  He  was  accurately  informed  of  the  condition  of 
all  the  Presbyterian  congregations  in  the  State.  No 

«/  CO 

one  knew  better  than  he  what  was  a  minister's  life  in  a 
log-cabin,  or  what  the  influence  of  a  pulpit  in  some 
rude  school-house,  or  ruder  sanctuary.  Yet  he  was  one 
of  the  first  to  perceive  the  importance  of  providing 
comfortable  and  attractive  houses  of  worship,  as  cen 
tres  of  a  permanent  power.  As  early  as  1845,  he  un 
dertook  under  sanction  of  his  synod,  to  raise  a  fund  of 
810,000,  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  church  erection 
in  Missouri.  He  visited  the  East,  to  collect  a  portion 
of  this  fund,  and  to  obtain  recruits  for  Home  Mission 
ary  service.  He  returned,  bringing  with  him  generous 
donations,  and  ten  clergymen.  He  was,  indeed,  remark 
ably  successful  in  his  lifelong  efforts  to  raise  the  means 
for  carrying  on  benevolent  enterprises.  "  Come  away," 
said  a  student  to  a  friend  who  called  his  attention  to  a 
"  speaking  likeness  "  of  Dr.  Bullard,  at  the  door  of  a 


240  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNIOX. 

pliotograpliic  artist :  "  Come  away !  he'll  have  five  dol 
lars  out  of  you  for  a  church  before  you  know  it." 

He  was  greatly  interested  in  the  establishment  of 
Webster  College,  near  St.  Louis.  The  subscription 
book  of  that  institution  was  found  upon  his  person,  wet 
and  soiled  by  the  rain  which  beat  upon  his  lifeless 
body,  as,  with  twenty-nine  victims  of  the  disaster  of 
Gasconade  bridge,  he  lay  amid  the  ruins  of  that  wreck 
which  had  cost  him  his  life. 

He  was  always  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly,  when  he  attended  its  meetings  as  com 
missioner.  Ardently  devoted  to  every  interest  of  the 
church  in  the  line  of  progress  ;  possessed  of  a  knowl 
edge  and  experience  to  which  all  were  compelled  to  de 
fer  ;  fluent,  direct,  and  clear  in  debate,  —  he  never  failed 
to  wield  a  powerful  influence.  When  he  died,  every 
missionary  lost  a  friend,  every  measure  of  importance  to 
the  Church  lost  a  champion. 

Among  those  whom  he  was  instrumental  in  introduc 
ing  to  the  missionary  work  of  the  Church,  we  \vill  men 
tion  one  only  whose  character  and  career  are  illustra 
tive  of  some  of  the  phases  of  the  work  itself. 

When,  in  1840,  Dr.  Bullard  visited  the  Seminary  at 
Auburn  to  stimulate  the  interest  of  its  students  in  the 
great  West,  he  became  acquainted  with  FEEDEEICK 
STAKE,  Jr.,  a  graduate  of  that  year,  who  had  already 
distinguished  himself  by  self-denying  labor  as  teacher 
and  missionary  in  the  Sunday-school  of  the  prison. 
This  young  man  quickly  caught  the  spirit  of  Dr.  Bul 
lard.  He  was  not  unlike  him  in  character.  Born  in 
Rochester,  January  23, 1826,  his  development  was  quick 


BIOGEAPinCAL    SKETCHES.  241 


and  strong.  He  made  a  profession  of  religion  in  his 
tenth  year,  and  was  from  the  first  an  active  and  useful 
Christian.  In  1850  he  repaired  to  St.  Louis,  and  un 
der  Dr.  Bullard's  direction  began  the  labors  of  city 
missionary.  But  he  was  not  long  content  with  these. 
His  spirit  craved  a  wider,  freer  horizon.  Hence  in 
March,  1851,  he  went  up  the  Missouri  four  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  to  the  verge  of  civilization.  Here  he  found 
the  town  of  Weston,  then  numbering  about  3,000  in 
habitants.  Four  miles  from  Weston  was  Fort  Leaven- 
worth,  where  at  that  time  all  the  annuities  of  the  In 
dians  in  that  region  were  paid.  Here,  too,  was  the 
starting-point  from  which  emigrants  to  California 
launched  out  upon  the  plains.  When  Mr.  Starr  arrived, 
the  whole  territory  about  Weston  and  the  Fort  was  occu 
pied  by  a  host  of  these  emigrants,  waiting  for  the  grass 
to  spring  up  along  the  route  before  them.  He  consti 
tuted  himself  at  once  a  missionary  among  these  motley 
hosts.  He  conciliated  their  favor  both  by  his  frank 
demeanor,  and  by  his  interest  in  their  spirit  of  adven 
ture.  Gifted  with  strong  and  well  disciplined  mechani 
cal  tastes,  he  could  assist  in  mending  a  wagon  or  in 
making  a  plaything  for  a  child.  Having  an  easy  ad 
dress  and  a  remarkable  facility  of  speech,  he  could  with 
equal  readiness  rivet  their  attention  by  an  anecdote 
at  the  camp-fire,  or  by  a  sermon  delivered  from  some  con 
venient  bench  or  barrel. 

While  laboring  in  this  manner  with  great  success,  he 
was  urged  to  accept  the  pastorate  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Weston,  whose  pulpit  was  vacant.  He  took 
the  call  into  consideration  and  carried  it  to  his  father, 
Hon.  Frederick  Starr,  a  man  whose  name  is  held  in  dis- 

16 


242  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

tinguished  I'egard  by  the  Church,  for  advice.  It  was 
natural  that  the  father,  desiring  to  have  his  son  near 
him  in  his  declining  years,  should  hesitate  ;  but  the  fa 
ther  had  too  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  son  to  resist  the 
appeal  made  to  him  as  the  son  sprang  to  his  feet  after 
laying  open  the  case  and  exclaimed,  "  Father,  have  you 
not  always  taught  me  from  a  child,  where  there  was  any 
work  to  be  done  which  no  other  man  would  do,  to  take 
hold  and  do  it  ?  I  have  travelled  many  thousand  miles, 
and  nowhere  in  the  land  have  I  found  a  place  so  wicked, 
so  sunk  in  sin,  and  where  any  other  minister  would  be 
so  little  likely  to  incline  or  dare  to  go  as  Weston ;  and 
that  is  my  reason  for  wishing  to  go  there." 

He  went.  He  carried  with  him  money  to  relieve  the 
church  at  Weston  of  an  embarrassing  debt.  He  aided 
with  his  own  hands  in  repairing  the  church  edifice, 
which  was  "  open,  dilapidated,  repulsive."  He  was  or 
dained  and  installed  October  23,  1850.  He  organized 
an  extensive  system  of  labor  among  the  rich  and  the 
poor,  among  masters  and  slaves,  among  civilians  and 
soldiers.  He  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance, 
and  judgment  to  come.  Positive,  fearless,  energetic, 
powerful,  he  won  the  love  of  many,  the  admiration  of 
all — even  of  those  whose  prejudices  he  aroused.  In 
the  summer  of  1852,  the  cholera  raged  in  Weston  with 
great  violence.  He  was  unwearied  in  his  active  exer 
tions  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  the  comfort  of  the 
afflicted.  The  Methodist  and  Baptist  clergymen  of  the 
town  both  fell  victims  of  the  pestilence.  He  alone  was 
left  to  render  such  services  to  the  whole  population  as 
;a  minister  can  render ;  but  his  habitual  fearlessness  and 
fidelity  were  conspicuous  until  the  plague  was  stayed. 


BIOGEAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  243 

A  still  severer  trial  tested  Ms  nerve  and  his  devotion, 
when  the  Excitements  attending  the  repeal  of  the  Mis 
souri  Compromise  prevailed.  He  was  in  the  very  theatre 
of  the  Kansas  raids — a  Northern  man  of  positive  char 
acter  and  convictions  where  no  Northern  man  was  safe. 
He  was  marked  with  suspicion.  His  life  was  threat 
ened.  He  was  summoned  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the 
"  Platte  County  Defensive  Association,"  when  he  knew 
that  the  summons  meant  death.  He  attended  it,  and 
by  his  courage  and  address  averted  the  peril  which  hung 
over  him,  though  frankly  declaring  his  conviction  that 
slavery  was  a  moral  evil,  and  appealing  for  authority  to 
such  southern  men  as  Jefferson  and  Benton.  But  the 
Border  War  went  on,  and  soon  became  so  bitter  that, 
yielding  to  the  entreaties  of  his  friends,  he  returned  to 
New  York,  despairing  of  stemming  a  tide  which  defied 
all  barriers. 

This  was  in  the  spring  of  1855.  He  was  immediately 
enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  Auburn  Theological  Sem 
inary,  and  of  the  Western  Education  Society,  and  con 
tinued  therein  until  1862,  performing  what  many  of  his 
friends  regard  as  the  great  work  of  his  life. 

After  a  short  and  successful  ministry  at  Penn  Yan, 
he  returned  to  the  West  in  1865,  to  take  charge  of  the 
North  Presbyterian  Church  in  St.  Louis,  where,  after 
two  years  of  labor  remarkable  in  results,  and  giving 
signal  promise  for  the  future,  he  died,  January  5,  1868. 

We  cannot  close  without  reference  to  another  to  whom 
the  Church  owes  much  of  its  solid  growth  and  of  its 
preparation  for  Reunion,  —  Dr.  THOKNTON  A.  MILLS. 
He  was  born  in  Paris,  Ky.,  September,  1810.  He 


244  PRESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

was  graduated  at  the  Miami  University,  in  1830,  and  li 
censed  by  the  Cincinnati  Presbytery,  in  1833:  In  1836, 
he  became  pastor  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Cincinnati,  and  retained  that  relation  for  twelve  years. 
In  1848,  he  purchased  the  Watchman  of  the  Valley, 
a  religious  journal  published  in  Cincinnati,  and  imme 
diately  began  to  exert  a  wide  influence  in  the  forma 
tion  of  those  opinions  which  resulted  in  the  full  organ 
ization  of  a  system  of  committees  to  carry  forward  the 
distinctive  work  of  the  church.  This  paper,  under  the 
present  title  of  the  Central  Christian  Herald,  was 
one  of  the  earliest  and  steadiest  advocates  of  Reunion. 

The  principal  labor  of  Dr.  Mills  in  the  service  of  the 
Church,  however,  commenced  in  1853,  when  he  was 
elected  Secretary  and  General  Agent  of  the  Church 
Erection  Committee.  On  the  completion  of  the  fund 
of  $100,000,  which  was  raised  by  his  energetic  advo 
cacy,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Indianapolis.  But  from  this  post  he  was  re 
moved  in  1856,  at  the  urgent  demand  of  the  Church  at 
large,  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  General  Secretary  of 
the  Assembly's  Committee  on  Education,  then  just  or 
ganized.  These  duties  he  performed  with  great  efficiency 
until  his  decease,  June,  1867. 

A  consummate  organizer,  a  powerful  advocate,  a  man 
of  wide  views  and  of  tenacious  purposes,  undaunted  by 
obstacles,  unshrinking  from  work,  a  thoroughly  genu 
ine  man,  —  his  influences  were  by  no  means  confined  to 
the  sphere  in  which  he  officially  moved.  Ardently  lov 
ing  his  denomination,  brought  into  constant  contact  with 
its  leading  minds,  he  touched  all  the  springs  of  eccle 
siastical  life,  and  forwarded  all  the  measures  of  eccle- 


BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  245 

siastical  progress.  His  record  is  so  interwoven  with  the 
history  of  the  Church  during  the  past  fifteen  years,  that 
one  can  trace  it  in  all  the  chapters  of  that  history. 

Our  space  in  this  book  is  already  more  than  full,  and 
our  regret  that  the  sketches  we  have  attempted  are  so 
meagre,  is  scarcely  less  than  our  regret  that  we  have  no 
room  for  extended  reference  to  some  of  the  honored 
laymen  who  have  contributed  in  no  slight  degree  to  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  Church  which  has  now  so 
gladly  dropped  its  New  School  title.  Such  men  as 
FKEDEKICK  STAKE,  Esq.,  and  Judge  WM.  JESSUP,  have 
accomplished  what  no  clergyman  could  effect.  The 
names  of  these  two,  at  least,  shall  stand  in  this  chap 
ter  to  remind  the  reader  of  virtues  and  services  which 
a  volume  only  could  fitly  commemorate. 


CHAPTEK    FIFTH. 

THE    REUNION. 


BY    THE    REV.    WILLIAM    ADAMS,    D.D.,    LL.D. 


Prognostics  of  Reunion. — Practical  Co-operation  of  both  branches  in  benevo 
lent  work. — Causes  of  Separation  removed. —  Interchange  of  Delegates 
between  the  two  Assemblies. —  Informal  Convention  at  Newark,  18G4. — 
Dr.  H.  B.  Smith's  Sermon  at  Dayton.  —  The  Two  Assemblies  at  St. 
Louis,  1866. — Reunion  Committee  of  Thirty. —  Drs.  Brainerd  and  Krebs. — 
Meetings  and  Progress  of  the  Committee. —  The  Report  presented  to  the 
two  Assemblies. —  Haste  avoided  and  time  given  for  deliberation.- —  Terms 
of  Reunion. —  Presbyterian  National  Union  Convention. —  Important  addi 
tion  to  the  terms  of  Subscription. —  Other  Conventions. —  Meeting  of  the 
Joint  Committee  in  Philadelphia. —  The  Gurley  Amendment. —  Solemn 
and  Affecting  Interview.  — The  Amendment  unanimously  adopted  in  Com 
mittee. —  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Reunion,  1868. —  Its  Adoption  in 
the  Old  School  Assembly.  —  Protest  and  Answer. —  Adoption  of  the  Report 
in  the  New  School  Assembly. —  The  way  prepared  for  final  action. —  The 
Standards  pure  and  simple.  —  Assemblies  in  New  York,  1869. — Committee 
of  Conference. —  Its  Report  adopted  and  sent  to  the  Presbyteries. —  God's 
Providence  manifested  in  the  entire  history  of  the  Reunion. 

TIIE  greatest  events  are  generally  foreshadowed  by 
many  signs  and  tokens.  Spring  and  summer  have 
many  harbingers.  Changes  of  opinion  in  Church  and 
State  are  brought  about  by  insensible  degrees.  The 
large  blocks  of  ice  detached  from  polar  masses,  are 
gradually  dissolved  in  the  warmer  currents  by  which 
they  are  borne  to  the  south. 

To  attentive  observers,  it  was  very  evident  for  several 
years  before  formal  negotiations  were  inaugurated,  that 
the  Reunion  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  merely  a  question  of  time  and  mode.  The 
grounds  of  this  expectation  were  obvious. 

(246) 


^  '^j        .k, 

WILLIS  LORD,  D.D.^     ^1fe^!H-  «• 




,'„'?• 


THE    EEUNION".  247 

Many  of  those  who  were  leaders  on  both  sides  at  the 
time  of  the  disruption  had  either  passed  from  this  life, 
or  had  entered  into  other  ecclesiastical  relations.  Per 
sonal  prejudices,  those  most  powerful  of  all  agencies 
in  producing  the  separation,  were  thus  to  a  large  degree 
eliminated  from  the  question.  A  new  generation  had 
risen  in  the  ministry  and  membership  of  the  Church, 
having  but  little  information,  and  less  interest  as  to  the 
separation  itself.  Social  and  ecclesiastical  intercourse, 
except  when  vain  attempts  were  made  by  a  few  to  keep 
alive  old  distinctions,  had  done  much  to  obliterate  for 
mer  lines.  Ministers  on  both  sides  were  accustomed  to 
exchange  pulpit  services.  Members  of  churches  passed 
from  one  side  to  the  other,  dismissed  and  received  on 
the  ordinary  certificate.  This  practical  union  had  been 
largely  promoted  by  co-operation  in  good  causes  in 
cities  and  towns.  When  it  pleased  God  to  pour  out 
his  Spirit  and  excite  an  unwonted  prayerfulness  over 
the  country,  the  hearts  of  Christian  people  were  drawn 
together  in  visible  unity.  For  its  general  extent  and 
influence,  it  was  like  the  breath  of  Spring.  There 
seemed  to  be  floating  in  the  very  air  a  sentiment  of 
Christian  confidence  and  love.  Indifferent  to  things  of 
minor  importance,  the  hearts  of  men  were  made  to  con 
verge  on  those  things  supreme  and  ultimate  relating  to 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  In  such  an  atmosphere  and 
current  of  events,  all  projects  for  union  among  Chris 
tians  seemed  to  meet  with  a  ready  response. 

Then  came  the  memorable  struggle  for  national  integ 
rity  and  life.  Before  the  mighty  enthusiasm  and  inflex 
ible  purpose  of  the  nation  to  save  itself  from  dismem 
berment  and  to  preserve  its  Constitution,  all  subordin- 


248  PEESBYTEEIAN    KEUNION. 

ate  distinctions  in  Church  and  State  instantly  disap 
peared.  In  large  cities,  in  towns,  villages  and  scattered 
settlements,  there  was  one  and  the  same  high-wrought 
patriotism,  drawing  men  together  in  the  closest  and 
firmest  unity.  Both  Assemblies,  though  with  different 
degrees  of  unanimity,  took  the  same  position  in  relation 
to  the  duty  of  the  Church  in  the  fiery  trial  to  which 
our  national  life  was  subjected.  As  the  conflict  pro 
ceeded,  it  became  apparent  that  the  continued  existence 
of  slavery  was  involved  in  its  issue.  As  this  was  the 
cause  of  the  war,  so  had  it  much  to  do  with  the  separa 
tion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  was  not  generally 
recognized  as  such  in  public  debate.  But  large  ships 
are  turned  about  by  that  plank  which  is  out  of  sight 
and  under  water.  The  New  School  Assembly  at  the 
time  of  the  disruption  had  but  few  churches  and  min 
isters  who  endorsed  slavery  by  theory  and  practice. 
All  these  withdrew  and  founded  a  separated  organiza 
tion  of  their  own  in  the  South  before  the  war,  and  be 
fore  negotiations  between  Old  School  and  New  School 
were  opened  for  Reunion.  The  General  Assembly  Old 
School  had  a  large  slave-holding  constituency  for  which 
it  always  manifested,  in  debate  and  legislation,  the  ut 
most  tenderness  and  caution.  The  time  came  when  it 
was  evident  that  slavery  was  to  go  down  forever  before 
the  well-nigh  unanimous  purpose  to  maintain  the  na 
tional  existence.  This  cause  removed,  there  went  with  it 
what  had  long  tended  in  Church  judicatories  to  produce 
irritation,  repulsion,  and  strife.  Much  has  not  been 
said  or  written  in  the  discussions  of  the  last  few  years 
upon  this  subject,  but  all  who  are  personally  acquainted 
with  the  affairs  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this 


THE    KEUmON".  249 


country,  for  the  last  thirty-five  years,  will,  in  all  candor, 
be  prompt  to  admit  that  the  existence  of  slavery  had 
more  to  do  with  the  division  of  the  Church  than  has 
generally  been  supposed  ;  and  that  its  entire  extinction 
has  been  among  the  many  causes  which  have  made  the 
Reunion  of  the  two  Northern  Assemblies  more  easy  and 
more  certain. 

In  view  of  all  these  circumstances,  it  was  inevitable 
that  the  subject  of  Reunion  should  become  a  matter  of 
discussion.  Several  religious  papers  representing  both 
branches  made  unequivocal  expression  of  opinion  in  its 
favor. 

In  May,  1862,  the  Old  School  Assembly,  then  in  ses 
sion  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  adopted  a  resolution  proposing 
a  "  stated  annual  and  friendly  interchange  of  commis 
sioners  between  the  two  General  Assemblies."  This,  it 
will  be  perceived,  was  not  a  movement  towards  organic 
union.  It  has  been  understood  as  intended  by  some  by 
a  flank  movement  to  defeat  Reunion,  by  establishing 
friendly  relations  between  two  independent  bodies,  al 
ways  to  be  retained  in  this  position.  The  above  reso 
lution  was  communicated  to  the  New  School  Assembly 
at  its  next  meeting,  May,  1863,  in  Philadelphia.  Its 
action  on  the  subject  is  contained  in  the  following  reso 
lution  : 

"  Resolved^  That  this  Assembly,  with  heartfelt  pleasure  and  Chris 
tian  salutations,  accepts  the  proposition  thus  made,  hoping  and  pray 
ing  that  it  may  result  in  securing  a  better  understanding  of  the  rela 
tions  which,  in  the  judgment  of  this  Assembly,  are  proper  to  be  main 
tained  between  the  two  Assemblies." 

The  Old  School  Assembly  being  in  session  at  this 
time  in  Peoria,  Illinois,  was  at  once  informed  by  tele- 


250  PEESBYTEEIAN 


graph  of  this  action,  and  immediately  delegates  were 
chosen  by  both  bodies,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of 
the  resolution.  So  far  from  operating,  as  some  of  its 
advocates  supposed  that  it  would,  as  a  measure  looking 
to  continued  independency  of  the  two  branches,  with 
honorable  and  friendly  recognition  of  each  other  as  be 
tween  distinct  denominations,  it  tended  immediately  to 
strengthen  the  wish  for  a  closer  union. 

The  very  next  year  (1864),  when  the  Old  School 
General  Assembly  was  in  session  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  a 
meeting  of  ministers  and  elders,  members  of  that  body, 
and  others  casually  in  attendance,  was  held  for  confer 
ence  upon  the  expediency  and  feasibility  of  organic  Ee- 
union.  This,  so  far  as  is  known  to  the  writer,  was  the 
first  action  in  favor  of  Reunion  on  the  part  of  a  public 
and  representative  body.  It  was  not  the  action  of  the 
General  Assembly  itself,  but  of  those,  in  large  part,  who 
were  members  of  it.  The  paper  prepared  and  pub 
lished  by  this  meeting,  was  signed  by  seventy  ministers 
and  fifty-three  elders.  From  this  document  we  make 
the  followin  extract  : 


tl  It  is  believed  that  the  great  majority  in  each  branch  sincerely  re 
ceive  and  adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith,  as  containing  the  system  of 
doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  approve  the  same  govern 
ment  and  discipline.  On  this  basis  we  may  reunite,  mutually  regard 
ing  and  treating  the  office-bearers  and  church  courts  of  each  branch 
as  co-ordinate  elements  in  the  reconstruction.  There  are  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  repairing  the  breaches  of  Zion,  which  must  be  met  and 
overcome  by  well-considered  methods,  and  in  a  spirit  of  forbearance 
and  prudence.  Reunion  cannot  be  accomplished,  nor  is  it  to  be  de 
sired,  without  the  restoration  of  a  spirit  of  xmity  and  fraternity. 
We  believe  this  spirit  exists,  and  is  constantly  increasing.  That 
which  should  first  engage  the  attention  of  the  friends  of  Reunion 


THE   EEHNIOIT.  251 

should  be  to  find  out  how  far  unity  of  sentiment  and  kindness  of 
feeling  prevail." 

The  same  year,  at  the  opening  of  the  New  School 
Assembly  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  a  sermon  was  preached  by 
the  retiring  Moderator,  the  Rev.  Henry  B.  Smith, 
D.D.,  which  presented  the  whole  subject  of  a  Reunited 
Church  with  singular  felicity  and  power.  These 
documents  were  widely  circulated  and  freely  discussed 
throughout  the  country ;  signs  multiplied  in  every  di 
rection  of  an  ever-increasing  disposition  and  purpose  to 
unite  the  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States. 

That  the  two  Assemblies  should  meet  simultaneously 
in  the  city  of  St.  Louis  in  the  year  1866,  was  no  ac 
cident.  It  was  an  evidence  of  pre-concert  on  the  part  of 
influential  members  of  both  branches,  and  indicated  a 
general  expectation  that  some  formal  action  in  favor  of 
Reunion  would  soon  be  inaugurated.  Scarcely  had 
these  Assemblies  been  organized,  before  it  appeared  that 
each  had  been  memorialized  by  a  considerable  number 
of  Presbyteries  in  different  parts  of  the  country  be 
tween  New  York  and  San  Jose,  to  take  action  in  favor 
of  reunion. 

It  was  necessary  that  these  overtures  should  receive 
official  notice.  Moreover,  in  that  city,  so  remote  from 
all  memories  and  associations  of  the  disruption,  a  Chris 
tian  spirit  was  prevalent  which  made  it  easy  for  mem 
bers  of  the  two  Assemblies  to  meet  together  for  social 
worship  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Communion.  At 
these  services,  popular  sentiment  expressed  itself  de 
cidedly  in  favor  of  Reunion.  At  length  the  General 


252  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNION. 

Assembly  of   the  Old  School  adopted  the  following 
resolutions : 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Assembly  expresses  its  fraternal  affection  for 
the  other  Branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  its  earnest  desire 
for  Reunion  at  the  earliest  time  consistent  with  agreement  in  doc 
trine,  order,  and  policy,  on  the  basis  of  our  common  standards  and 
the  prevalence  of  mutual  confidence  and  love,  which  are  so  necessary 
to  a  happy  union  and  to  the  permanent  peace  and  prosperity  of  the 
united  Church. 

tl  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  all  our  churches  and  church 
courts,  and  to  all  our  ministers,  ruling  elders,  and  communicants,  to 
cherish  fraternal  feeling ;  to  cultivate  Christian  intercourse  in  the 
worship  of  God,  in  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of  Christ  ;  and  to 
avoid  all  needless  controversies  and  competitions  adapted  to  perpetu 
ate  division  and  strife. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  nine  ministers  and  six  ruling  eld 
ers  be  appointed,  provided  that  a  similar  committee  shall  be  appointed 
by  the  other  Assembly  now  in  session  in  this  city,  for  the  purpose  of 
conferring  in  regard  to  the  desirableness  and  practicability  of  Reunion, 
and  if,  after  conference  and  inquiry,  such  Reunion  shall  seem  to  be 
desirable  and  practicable,  to  suggest  suitable  measures  for  its  accom 
plishment,  and  report  to  the  next  General  Assembly." 

These  resolutions  were  presented  in  the  New  School 
Assembly  by  a  delegation  from  the  body  adopting  them, 
consisting  of  the  late  and  lamented  Phineas  D.  Gurley, 
D.D.,  of  Washington,  and  Hon.  Lincoln  Clark,  of  De 
troit. 

"With  no  unnecessary  delay,  the  Assembly  of  the  New 
School  made  response  by  passing  the  following  resolu 
tions  : 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Assembly  tender  to  the  Assembly  repre 
senting  the  other  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  its  cordial  salu 
tations  and  fellowship,  and  the  expression  of  its  earnest  wish  for  Re- 


THE    EEimiON.  253 


union  on  the  basis  of  our  common  standards,  received  in  a  common 
spirit. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  fifteen,  nine  of  whom  shall  be 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  six  ruling  elders,  be  appointed  to  confer 
on  this  subject  in  the  recess  of  the  Assemblies  with  the  Committee  to 
be  appointed  by  the  other  General  Assembly,  and  to  report  the  re 
sults  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  enjoin  upon  this  Committee,  and  upon  all  our 
ministers  and  church-members,  to  abstain  from  whatever  may  hinder 
a  true  Christian  fellowship,  and  to  cherish  and  cultivate  those  feel 
ings  and  purposes  which  look  to  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  Zion, 
the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ,  and  the  complete  union  of  all  be 
lievers,  especially  of  those  who  live  in  the  same  land  and  have  the 
same  history  and  the  same  standards  of  doctrine  and  polity." 

Notwithstanding  the  spirit  of  Christian  confidence 
which  breathes  through  these  respective  resolutions,  it 
does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  definite  measure 
then  in  view  beyond  the  appointment  of  the  Committee 
of  Conference,  which  was  likely  to  bring  about  the  re 
suit  contemplated.  Many  on  both  sides  were  skeptical 
as  to  any  good  likely  to  ensue  from  the  proposed  con 
ference.  Some  there  were  in  each  Assembly  who  were 
personally  active  in  the  scenes  of  the  disruption.  How 
ever,  with  a  good  degree  of  unanimity,  the  above  reso 
lutions  were  passed  in  both  Assemblies,  which  imme 
diately  proceeded  to  appoint  the  proposed  Committees. 
These  were  selected  with  care,  as  representing  different 
sections  of  the  country.  Very  few  of  the  members 
were  members  of  the  Assemblies  then  in  session.  They 
were  chosen  from  the  States  of  New  York,  Pennsyl 
vania,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Missouri, 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  Minnesota,  and  the  District  of  Co 
lumbia.  As  originally  constituted,  these  Committees 
were  as  follows  :  — 


254  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

Those  on  the  part  of  the  Old  School  were  — 

MINISTERS. 

J.  M.  Krebs,  D.D.,  Chairman.  J.  G.  Monfort,  D.D. 

C.  0.  Beatty,  D.D.  W.  D.  Howard,  D.D. 

J.  T.  Backus,  D.D.  W.  E.  Schenck,  D.D. 

P.  D.  Gurley,  D.D.  Villeroy  D.  Reed,  D.D. 

F.  T.  Brown,  D.D. 

RULING  ELDERS. 

James  M.  Ray.  H.  K.  Clarke. 

Robert  McKnight.  George  P.  Strong. 

Samuel  Galloway.  Ormond  Beatty. 

Those  on  the  part  of  the  New  School  were — • 

MINISTERS. 

Thomas  Brainerd,  D.D.,  Chairman.        Philemon  H.  Fowler,  D.D. 
William  Adams,  D.D.  James  B.  Shaw,  D.D. 

Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  D.D.  Henry  L.  Hitchcock,  D.D. 

Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D.D.  Robt.  W.  Patterson,  D.D. 

Henry  A.  Nelson,  D.D. 

RULING  ELDERS. 

Edward  A.  Lambert.  Truman  P.  Handy. 

Joseph  Allison,  LL.D.  Robert  "W.  Steele. 

Henry  Williams.  William  H.  Brown. 

Before  these  Committees  could  meet,  events  occurred 
which  were  fitted  to  produce  unusual  sobriety.  The 
Chairmen  of  both  Committees  were  removed  from  all 
participation  in  the  conference.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Brainerd 
was  suddenly  translated  to  that  world  where  all  the 
distinctions  of  Christian  discipleship  are  lost  in  the  har 
mony  of  heaven.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Krebs  was  disabled 
by  severe  illness  from  any  share  in  the  deliberations, 


THE    REUNION.  255 

and  before  long  he  too  was  united  to  the  great  company 
of  Christian  ministers  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Both 
of  these  brethren  were  wise  and  magnanimous,  and  their 
untimely  death  was  profoundly  felt  throughout  the 
Church. 

After  correspondence  between  members  of  the  Com 
mittees,  they  were  convened  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
February  20,  1867,  and  organized  by  the  appointment 
of  their  respective  Chairmen,  Drs.  Beatty  and  Adams. 
At  first  each  Committee  met  by  itself.  It  was  natural 
that  some  degree  of  awkwardness  should  exist,  when 
one  was  waiting  for  the  movement  of  the  other.  At 
length  the  two  Committees  met  in  joint  session.  Most 
of  the  members  were  personal  strangers.  But  all  es 
trangement  and  reserve  soon  disappeared  before  the 
spirit  of  prayer  and  honorable  Christian  confidence. 
In  the  first  instance,  no  member  of  these  Committees 
was  so  sanguine  as  to  expect  immediate  action  in  favor 
of  organic  union.  The  first  proposal  looked  only  to 
closer  relations  in  the  work  6f  the  Church ;  the  avoid 
ance  of  rivalry  in  the  establishment  of  new  churches, 
especially  on  the  frontier  settlements.  An  arrangement 
of  this  description  had  already  been  inaugurated  by 
the  respective  Boards  of  Home  Missions.  But  after 
continued  conference,  in  which,  as  the  result  of  the 
utmost  frankness,  entire  confidence  was  established,  it 
dawned  upon  the  Committees  that  they  were  appointed 
to  accomplish  a  specific  thing.  To  that  point  they  now 
addressed  themselves  with  the  honest  and  earnest  en 
deavor  to  adjust  a  plan  for  reuniting  the  two  bodies 
which  they  severally  represented.  It  soon  appeared,  to 
their  own  surprise  and  satisfaction,  that  a  substantial 


256  PKESBYTEPJAN    KEUNION. 

agreement  could  be  reached.  To  give  opportunity  for 
farther  inquiry  and  information,  the  Committees  ad 
journed  to  the  month  of  May.  On  the  first  day  of 
that  monththey  reassembled  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
and  gave  an  entire  week  to  their  deliberations. 

The  result  of  the  conference  appears  in  the  following 
report,  which  was  made  totidem  verbis  by  the  two 
Chairmen  to  their  respective  Assemblies,  the  Old 
School  meeting  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  the  New  School 
in  Eochester,  N.  Y.,  in  May,  1867: 

All  the  meetings  of  the  Committees  were  distinguished  by  a  degree 
of  courtesy  and  unanimity,  which  was  more  than  common.  Com 
posed  of  men  of  decided  individuality,  representing  divers  interests 
and  sections,  they  have  discussed  every  question,  many  of  them  of 
admitted  delicacy  and  difficulty,  with  the  utmost  frankness,  without 
one  word  or  expression  of  any  kind  ever  to  be  regretted  by  Christian 
brethren  who  felt  the  grave  responsibilities  of  their  position. 

The  result  of  their  conferences  is  contained  in  the  following  docu 
ment,  adopted  in  Joint  Committee  with  remarkable  unanimity : 

PROPOSED  TERMS  OF  REUNION  BETWEEN  THE  TWO  BRANCHES  OF  THE 
PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

The  Joint  Committee  of  the  two  General  Assemblies  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  on  the 
desirableness  and  practicability  of  uniting  these  two  bodies,  deeply 
impressed  with  the  responsibility  of  the  work  assigned  us,  and  having 
earnestly  sought  Divine  guidance,  and  patiently  devoted  ourselves  to 
the  investigation  of  the  questions  involved,  agree  in  presenting  the 
following  for  the  consideration,  and,  if  they  see  fit,  for  the  adoption, 
of  the  two  General  Assemblies  : 

Believing  that  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  would  be 
promoted  by  healing  our  divisions ;  that  practical  union  would  greatly 
augment  the  efficiency  of  the  whole  Church  for  the  accomplishment 
of  its  divinely  appointed  work  ;  that  the  main  causes  producing  divis 
ion  have  either  wholly  passed  away,  or  become  in  a  great  degree  in- 


THE    KEimiOtf.  257 


operative  ;  and  that  two  bodies,  bearing  the  same  name,  adopting  the 
same  Constitution,  and  claiming  the  same  corporate  rights,  cannot  be 
justified  by  any  but  the  most  imperative  reasons  in  maintaining  sepa 
rate  and,  in  some  respects,  rival  organizations  ;  and  regarding  it  as 
both  just  and  proper  that  a  Reunion  should  be  effected  by  the  two 
Churches,  as  independent  bodies  and  on  equal  terms  ;  we  propose  the 
following  terms  and  recommendations  as  suited  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  case  : 

1.  The  Reunion  shall  be  effected  on  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical 
basis  of  our  common  standards  ;  the  Confession  of  Faith  shall  con 
tinue  to  be  sincerely  received  and  adopted  "  as  containing  the  system 
of  doctrine  taught  in  the   Holy  Scriptures  ;  "  and  its  fair,  historical 
sense,  as  it  is  accepted  by  the  two  bodies  in  opposition  to  Antinomi- 
anism  and  Fatalism  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  Arminianism  and  Pela- 
gianism  on  the  other,  shall  be  regarded  as  the   sense  in  which  it  is 
received  and  adopted  ;  and  the   Government  and  Discipline  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  shall  continue  to  be  ap 
proved  as  containing  the  principles  and  rule  of  our  polity. 

2.  All  the  ministers  and  churches  embraced  in  the  two  bodies 
shall  be  admitted  to  the  same  standing  in  the  united  body  which  they 
may  hold  in  their  respective  connections  up  to  the  consummation  of 
the  Union  ;  and  all  the  churches  connected  with  the  united  body,  not 
thoroughly  Presbyterian  in  their  organization,  shall  be  advised  to 
perfect  their  organization  as  soon  as  is  permitted  by  the  highest  in 
terests  to  be  consulted  ;  no  other  such  churches  shall  be  received  ; 
and  such  persons  alone  shall  be  chosen  Commissioners  to  the  General 
Assembly,  as   are   eligible   according    to   the   Constitution    of   the 
Church. 

3.  The  boundaries  of  the  several  Presbyteries  and  Synods  shall  be 
adjusted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  united  Church. 

4.  The  official  records  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Church  for  the 
period  of  separation  shall  be  preserved  and  held  as  making  up   the 
one  history  of  the  Church  ;  and  no  rule  or  precedent  which  does  not 
stand  approved  by  both  the  bodies  shall  be   of  any  authority  until 
re-established  in  the  united  body. 

5.  The  corporate  rights,  now  held  by  the  two  General  Assemblies 
and  by  their  Boards  and  Committees,  shall,  as  far  as  practicable,  be 
consolidated  and  applied  for  their  several  objects  as  denned  by  law. 

17 


258  PKESBYTEKIAN 


6.  There   shall   be  one  set   of  Committees  or  Boards   for  Home 
and  Foreign   Missions,  and   the   other  religious  enterprises   of  the 
Church,  which  the  churches  shall  be  encouraged  to  sustain,  though 
left  free  to  cast  their  contributions  into  other  channels,  if  they  desire 
to  do  so. 

7.  As  soon  as  practicable  after  the  Union  shall  be  effected,  the 
General  Assembly  shall  reconstruct  and  consolidate  the  several  Per 
manent  Committees  and  Boards  which  now  belong  to  the  two  Assem 
blies,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  represent,  as  far  as  possible,  with  impar 
tiality,  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  two  bodies  constituting  the  united 
Church. 

8.  When  it  shall  be  ascertained  that  the  requisite  number  of  Pres 
byteries  of  the  two  bodies  have  approved  the  terms  of  Union  as  here 
inafter  provided  for,  the  two  General  Assemblies  shall  each  appoint  a 
Committee  of  seven,  none  of  them  having  an  official  relation   to 
either  the  Board  or  the  Committee  of  Publication,  who  shall  consti 
tute  a  Joint  Committee,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  revise  the   Cata 
logues  of  the  existing  publications  of  the  two  Churches,  and  to  make 
out  a  list  from  them  of  such  books  and  tracts  as  shall  be  issued  by 
the  united  Church  ;    and  any  Catalogue  thus  made  out,  in  order  to 
its  adoption,  shall  be  approved  by  at  least  five  members  of  each  Com 
mittee. 

9.  If,  at  any  time  after  the  Union  has  been  effected,  any  of  the 
Theological  Seminaries,  under  the  care  and  control  of  the  General 
Assembly,  shall  desire  to  put  themselves  under   Synodical  control, 
they  shall  be  premitted  to  do  so  at  the  request  of  their  Boards  of  di 
rection  ;  and  those  Seminaries  which  are  independent  in  their  organi 
zation  shall  have  the  privilege  of  putting  themselves  under  ecclesias 
tical  control,  to  the  end  that,  if  practicable,  a  system  of  ecclesiastical 
supervision  of  such  Institutions  may  ultimately  prevail  through  the 
entire  united  Church. 

10.  It  shall  be  regarded  as  the  duty  of  all  our  judicatories,  minis 
ters,  and  people  in  the  united  Church  to  study  the  things  which  make 
for  peace,  and  to  guard  against  all  needless  and  offensive  references  to 
the  causes  that  have  divided  us  ;  and,  in  order  to  avoid  the  revival  of 
past  issues  by  the  continuance  of  any  usage  in  either  branch  of  the 
Church  that  has  grown  out  of  our  former  conflicts,  it  is  earnestly  rec 
ommended  to  the  lower  judicatories  of  the  Church,  that  they  con- 


THE    EETJNION.  259 

form  their  practice  in  relation  to  all  such  usages,  as  far  as  consistent 
with  their  convictions  of  duty,  to  the  general  custom  of  the  Church 
prior  to  the  controversies  that  resulted  in  the  separation. 

11.  The  terms  of  the  Reunion  shall  be  of  binding  force,  if  they 
shall  be  ratified  by  three  fourths  of  the  Presbyteries  connected  with 
each  branch  of  the  Church  within  one  year  after  they  shall  have  been 
submitted  to  them  for  approval. 

12.  The  terms  of  the  Reunion  shall  be  published  by  direction  of  the 
General  Assemblies  of  1867,  for  the  deliberate  examination  of  both 
branches  of  the  Church,  and  the  Joint  Committee  shall  report  to  the 
General  Assemblies  of  1868  any  modification  of  them  they  may  deem 
desirable,  in  view  of  any  new  light  that  may  have  been  received  during 
the  year. 

13.  It   is   recommended  that   the  Hon.  DANIEL  HAINES,  and  the 
Hon.  HENRY  "VV.  GREEN,  LL.D.,  of  New  Jersey,  DANIEL  LORD,  LL.D., 
and  THEODORE  W.  DWIGHT,  LL.D.,  of  New  York,  and  Hon.  WIL 
LIAM  STRONG,  and  Hon.  GEORGE  SHARSWOOD,  LL.D.,  of  Pennsylvania, 
be  appointed  by  the  general  Assemblies  a  Committee  to  investigate 
all  questions  of  property  and  of  vested  rights,  as  they  may  stand  re 
lated  to  the  matter  of  Reunion ;  and  this  Committee  shall  report  to 
the  Joint  Committee  as  early  as  the  first  of  January,  1868. 

14.  It  is  evident,  that,  in  order  to  adapt  our  ecclesiastical  system 
to  the  necessities  and  circumstances  of  the  united  Church  as  a  greatly 
enlarged  and  widely  extended  body,  some  changes  in  the  Constitution 
will  be  required.     The  Joint  Committee,  therefore,  request  the  two 
General  Assemblies  to  instruct  them  in  regard  to  the  preparation  of 
an  additional  article  on  this  subject,  to  be  reported  to  the  Assemblies 
of  1868. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  Joint  Committee. 

CHARLES  C.  BEATTY,  Chairman. 
EDWIN  F.  HATFIELD,  Secretary. 
NEW  YORK,  May,  7th,  1867. 

Leaving  their  Report  with  the  General  Assemblies  and  the  minis 
ters  and  churches  of  their  denomination  throughout  the  land,  your 
Committee  cannot  disregard  the  Providential  auspices  under  which 
their  recommendations  await  decision.  The  present  is  thought  to  be 
a  favorable  time,  now  that  many  questions  of  former  controversy  have 


260  PEESBYTEEIAN   RECTSTION 

lost  their  interest,  for  adopting  a  magnanimous  policy  suited  to  the 
necessities  of  our  country  and  the  world.  The  Presbyterian  Church 
has  a  history  of  great  renown.  It  has  been  intimately  associated 
with  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  both  hemispheres.  Its  republican 
and  representative  character,  the  parity  of  its  clergy,  the  simplicity 
of  its  order,  the  equity  of  its  administration,  its  sympathy  with  our 
institutions,  its  ardent  patriotism  in  all  stages  of  our  history,  its  flex 
ible  adaptation  to  our  heterogeneous  population,  its  liberal  support  of 
schools,  colleges,  and  seminaries  designed  for  general  education  and 
theological  culture,  its  firm  and  steadfast  faith  in  the  extension  of 
the  Redeemer's  Kingdom,  and  that  by  means  of  revealed  truth  and 
the  special  effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  distinction  from  all  trust 
in  human  arts  and  devices,  —  all  unite  to  promise,  if  we  are  wise  and 
faithful,  a  future  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  these  United  States 
greater  and  better  than  all  the  past.  Amid  the  changes  which  have 
occurred  around  us,  we  are  confident  that  nothing  true  and  good  will 
ever  recede  or  decay ;  and  it  becomes  all  those  who  love  the  same 
faith,  order,  and  worship,  abounding  in  love  and  hope,  to  pray  that 
God  would  count  them  worthy  of  their  calling,  that  they  may  fulfil 
all  the  good  pleasure  of  his  goodness  and  the  work  of  faith  with 
power,  that  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  be  glorified  in 
them,  and  they  in  him,  according  to  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  Committee. 

WILLIAM  ADAMS,  Chairman,  N.  S. 
CHARLES  C.  BEATTY,  0.  S. 

NEW  YORK,  May,  7th,  1867. 

It  will  be  seen  in  the  12th  article  of  these  proposed 
terms  of  Reunion,  that  action  upon  the  merits  of  the 
plan,  was,  by  agreement,  to  be  postponed  for  an  entire 
year.  It  was  deemed  very  unadvisable  that  there 
should  be  any  appearance  of  haste.  It  would  have 
been  very  unhappy  should  any,  doubtful  as  yet  as  to 
the  expediency  of  Reunion,  have  cause  to  complain  that 
decisive  action  had  been  precipitated  upon  them  with- 


THE    EEUiaON.  261 


out  the  fullest  opportunity  for  deliberation  and  dis 
cussion.  The  Report  recommended  that  the  Terms  of 
Reunion,  agreed  upon  by  the  Joint  Committee,  should 
be  published  by  direction  of  the  General  Assemblies, 
that  the  Committee  should  be  continued,  and  that  they 
should  report  to  the  Assemblies  of  1868  any  modifica 
tion  of  them  which  they  may  deem  desirable,  in  view  of 
any  new  light  they  may  receive  during  the  year. 

The  course  of  events  from  this  point  onwards,  has 
been  so  faithfully  and  happily  described  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Stearns,  a  most  sagacious  and  indefatigable  member 
of  the  Joint  Committee,  in  an  article  in  the  American 
Presbyterian  Review,  for  July,  1869,  entitled  "Histor 
ical  Sketch  of  the  Reunion,"  that  the  writer  prefers,  in 
stead  of  affecting  a  new  cast  of  the  facts  into  other  lan 
guage,  to  avail  himself  largely  of  the  narrative  pre 
pared  by  his  distinguished  associate  in  the  Committee  : 

The  New  School  Assembly  approved  and  adopted  "the  whole 
report  with  entire  unanimity,  appointed  the  legal  committee  recom 
mended  in  Art.  13,  and  authorized  the  Joint  Committee  to  recom 
mend  needed  changes  in  the  Constitution,  as  requested  in  Art.  14.  In 
that  of  the  Old  School,  parts  of  the  Report  encountered  opposition. 
The  special  committee  to  whom  it  was  referred,  brought  in  two  Re 
ports.  That  of  the  minority  asking  the  Assembly  to  instruct  the 
Reunion  Committee  "  to  obtain  a  more  definite  statement  of  the  doc 
trinal  basis,"  the  exclusion  of  "  Committee  men  "  from  the  Church 
Courts,  and  a  "  distinct  and  formal  recognition  of  the  right  and  obli-- 
gation  of  every  presbytery  to  be  satisfied  as  to  the  soundness  of  every 
minister  it  receives,"  was,  after  discussion,  rejected  by  a  lai'ge  major 
ity:  nays  152,  yeas  64.  Pending  a  resolution  to  adopt  that  of  -the 
majority,  the  resolution  to  instruct  the  Joint  Committee  to  propose 
changes  in  the  Constitution,  as  recommended  in  Art.  14  of  the  Plan, 
was  unanimously  stricken  out  ;  another  was  added  declining  to  ex 
press  either  approbation  or  disapprobation,  of  the  terms  presented  by 


262  PEESBYTEEIAN   EE UNION. 

the  Committee  of  Reunion  in  detail,  and  the  rest  adopted  without  a 
count,  containing  the  Resolution,  "  that  this  Assembly  has  listened 
with  grateful  and  profound  satisfaction  to  the  Report  of  the  Commit 
tee  on  Church  Reunion,  and  recognize,  in  the  unanimity  of  the  Joint 
Committee,  the  finger  of  God  as  pointing  toward  an  early  and  cor 
dial  Reunion  of  the  two  sister  churches  now  so  long  separated. 

In  this  posture  of  affairs,  the  Report  of  the  "  Terms  of  Reunion  " 
went  out  to  the  churches  and  presbyteries.  It  was,  by  order,  pub 
lished  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Minutes  of  both  Assemblies,  and  in 
the  religious  newspapers,  and  commended  to  the  careful  consideration 
of  the  whole  church.  During  the  Summer  and  Autumn,  the  provis 
ions  of  the  Plan  were  very  freely  discussed  by  the  press,  and  in  the 
presbyteries,  and  various  opinions  and  suggestions  were  elicited  con 
cerning  them.  The  Princeton  Review,  in  its  July  number,  attacked 
the  whole  scheme  with  great  vigor,  in  an  article  written  by  Dr. 
Hodge,  and  afterwards  published  under  his  own  name  in  pamphlet 
form.  The  object  of  that  article,  he  say  sin  the  preface  to  the  pam 
phlet,  "  is  threefold :  First,  To  show  that  the  true  principle  of  sub 
scription  to  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  requires  that  those 
who  profess  to  adopt  the  system  of  doctrine  therein  contained,  should 
sincerely  receive  in  their  integrity,  all  the  doctrines  essential  to  the 
Reformed  or  Calvinistic  System.  /Second,  That  this  is  the  principle 
adopted  and  insisted  upon  by  our  church  from  the  beginning,  and  to 
which  the  Old  School  body  stand  solemnly  pledged  before  the  Chris 
tian  world.  Third,  That  however  numerous  may  be  the  orthodox 
members  of  the  New  School  Presbyterian  Church,  that  Church,  as  an 
ecclesiastical  organization,  never  has  and  does  not  now  adopt  and  act 
upon  that  principle;  and,  therefore,  that  union  between  the  two 
churches  under  these  circumstances,  would  be  not  only  inexpedient, 
but  morally  wrong."  An  able  answer  to  this  article  appeared  in  the 
Presbyterian  ^Review,  in  the  number  for  October,  written  by  Profes 
sor  H.  B.  Smith,  and  afterwards  published  separately,  and  widely 
scattered  through  both  branches  of  the  Church.  In  this  article,  the 
charge  of  loose  subscription  made  against  the  New  School  was  posi 
tively  and  indignantly  denied,  and  proof  challenged.  On  the  contrary, 
it  was  affirmed  that  the  sense  in  which  the  New  School  Church  re 
ceived  and  adopted  the  Confession  was  precisely  the  same  with  that 
claimed  as  the  true  one  by  Dr.  Hodge,  viz.,  the  Calvinistic  or  Me- 


THE  EEUOTON-.  263 

formed.  This  discussion  was  very  generally  read,  and  had  a  power 
ful  influence  in  disabusing  many  minds  of  their  prejudices  or  misap 
prehensions.  Both  of  the  admissions  of  Dr.  Hodge,  and  the  denials 
and  assertions  of  Professor  Smith,  tended  to  the  same  result,  —  the 
conviction  of  the  substantial  oneness  of  both  bodies  in  the  receiving 
and  adopting  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  in  the  true,  honest,  liberal, 
common- sense,  and  Presbyterian  signification  of  those  words. 

But  the  question  still  remained  in  the  minds  of  some,  Was  this  a 
fair  representation  of  the  opinions  of  the  New  School  Church  ? 

In  the  month  of  November  of  that  same  year,  occurred  that  re 
markable  meeting  of  Christian  men  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  known 
as  "  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  NATIONAL  UNION  CONVENTION."  "  It  origi 
nated  in  a  proposal,  made  in  the  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church,  at  its  meeting  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  May,  1867,  by 
George  A.  Stuart,  Esq.,  an  elder  in  that  body,"  and  had  for  its 
object  "  to  inaugurate  measures  to  heal  Zion's  breaches,  and  to  bring 
into  one  the  divided  portions  of  the  Presbyterian  family."  Though 
entirely  spontaneous,  and  without  ecclesiastical  authority,  this  meet 
ing  was  composed  of  delegates  sent  by  the  repective  presbyteries  of 
the  different  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  family  in  all  parts  of  the 
land,  and  had  a  most  important  influence  on  the  progress  of  the  mea 
sures  in  operation  for  the  reunion  of  the  Old  and  New  School.  The 
presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  was  never  more  sensibly  felt,  and  scenes 
were  there  enacted  which  will  be  remembered  when  the  prayer  of  the 
departing  Saviour  shall  have  reached  its  complete  fulfilment,  "  That 
they  all  may  be  one."  In  this  meeting  the  proposition  was  very  early 
entertained  and  adopted  to  attempt  an  organic  union  of  these  differ 
ent  churches,  and  a  Committee  to  prepare  and  report  a  "  basis  of 
union  "  was  appointed,  consisting  of  one  minister  and  one  elder  from 
each  of  the  churches. 

This  Committee  went  immediately  to  their  work,  and  the  next  day 
brought  in  their  report.  Meanwhile,  as  the  discussions  and  devo 
tional  exercises  proceeded,  all  hearts  seemed  melting  into  one.  The 
strongest  expressions  of  desire  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  design 
were  uttered  by  the  speakers  of  every  branch  of  the  Church  repre 
sented,  and  from  every  part  of  the  land.  A  Convention  of  Episco 
pal  brethren  in  session  in  the  same  city  had  turned  aside  from  their 
business  to  pray  for  God's  blessing  upon  our  deliberations.  We  had 


264  PRESBYTEKIAN   EEUNION. 

reciprocated  the  fraternal  action,  and  sent  a  delegation  with  our  Chris 
tian  salutations  to  them.  The  delegation  had  returned,  reporting 
their  very  cordial  reception,  and  the  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Episco 
pal  Convention  to  reciprocate  the  courtesy  by  sending  a  correspond 
ing  delegation  to  us.  The  Report  of  the  Basis  had  been  read  and 
largely  explained  and  commented  upon  by  the  members  of  the  Com 
mittee.  The  highest  degree  of  enthusiasm  prevailed.  The  first  arti 
cle,  containing  an  acknowledgment  of  the  Scriptures,  had  been  revised 
and  adopted,  and  the  second,  declaring  that  "  in  the  United  Church, 
the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  shall  be  received  and  adopted  as 
containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  was 
before  the  Convention. 

All  this  while,  Dr.  Hodge,  a  member  of  the  Convention,  had  re 
mained  perfectly  silent.  Except  a  short  prayer,  very  guarded  in  its 
language,  which  he  offered  at  the  request  of  the  Moderator,  he  had 
not  uttered  a  word.  The  reason,  as  was  supposed,  and  as  he  after 
wards  avowed,  was  his  great  surprise  at  seeing  the  turn  which  the 
affairs  of  the  Convention  took,  and  the  spirit  and  desires  of  its  mem 
bers.  "  Mr.  President,"  he  said  the  next  day,  "  I  came  to  this  Con 
vention  under  an  entire  misapprehension,  and  I  presume  that  this  is 
true  of  the  majority  of  our  Old  School  brethren.  We  thought  ii 
probable  that  some  plan  of  federal  union,  which  would  allow  each 
member  of  the  confederation  to  retain  its  own  peculiarities,  and  re 
volve  in  its  own  sphere,  might  be  proposed  and  recommended.  But, 
sir,  from  the  first  hour  of  our  coming  together,  with  the  solitary  ex 
ception  of  the  remarks  of  Dr.  R.  J.  Breckenridge  on  the  first  day  of 
the  Convention,  I  have  not  heard  a  word  uttered -or  a  prayer  offered 
from  the  members  of  any  of  the  bodies  here  represented,  which  did 
not  assume  that  the  organic  union  of  all  the  Presbyterian  churches  in 
the  land  was  the  object  contemplated  and  desired.  Such  being  the 
case,  I  have  taken  no  part  in  your  deliberations,  but  have  sat  in  si 
lence,  waiting  to  see  what  God,  in  his  providence  and  spirit,  would 
bring  to  pass." 

It  was  late  in  the  evening,  at  the  close  of  the  second  day,  and  the 
question  was  just  about  to  be  put,  when  Prof.  Smith,  also  a  member 
of  the  Convention,  and  who  had  from  the  beginning  taken  a  warm 
interest  and  a  prominent  part  in  all  its  deliberations  and  actions, 
arose  and  said :  "  Mr.  Moderator,  it  seems  to  me  that,  in  this  article, 


THE  EEmsnoiT.  265 


we  have  reached  the  central  point,  and  that  here  we  need  to  be  care 
ful  and  circumspect,  because  we  have  come  to  the  article  where  there 
is  the  most  controversy.  There  will  be  the  most  difficulty  in  respect 
to  the  terms  of  subscription  as  to  the  sense  in  which  we  assent  to  the 
doctrines  presented,  and  receive  the  Confession  of  Faith  as  containing 
the  doctrines  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  I  move  that  the  follow 
ing  words  be  added  to  that  article,  namely  :  '  It  being  understood 
that  this  Confession  is  received  in  its  proper  historical,  that  is,  the 
Calvinistic  or  Reformed,  sense.''  "  The  proposition  took  the  Conven 
tion  by  surprise.  Some  did  not  see  the  need  of  it  ;  others  feared  it 
would  raise  a  new  and  unnecessary  discussion.  But  the  mover  per 
sisted.  To  a  friend  who  suggested  to  him  that  some  would  prefer  to 
have  him  withdraw  it,  he  replied,  "  I  have  offered  it,  and  the  Conven 
tion  may  dispose  of  it  as  they  like  ;  vote  it  down  if  they  do  not  like  it." 
His  object  is  manifest  from  the  history  of  the  case  as  already  given. 
It  was  first,  to  meet  the  objections  to  the  organic  union  then  contem 
plated,  on  the  part  of  a  considerable  section  of  the  Old  School  body,  of 
which  the  Princeton  Review  was  the  representative  ;  and,  second,  to 
test,  in  an  open  and  explicit  manner,  the  position  of  the  New  School 
on  the  subject  of  accepting  and  adopting  the  Confession.  In  this  lat 
ter  view,  its  success  was  most  signal.  There  had  been  no  concert. 
The  mover  acted  upon  his  own  responsibility.  But  when  the  ques 
tion  was  put  to  the  New  School  portion  of  the  Convention,  every  man 
except  two  (46  ayes,  to  2  nays)  immediately  voted  in  the  affirm 
ative.  And  from  that  time  to  this  we  have  never  heard  from  any 
quarter  in  our  branch  of  the  Church,  a  single  voice  dissenting  from 
the  position  there  taken  by  their  delegates.  The  result  proved,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  eminently  acceptable  to  all  candid  men  in 
both  parties.  It  had,  no  doubt,  a  most  important  influence  in  pro 
ducing  harmony  and  confidence  between  the  two  parties  in  all  parts 
of  the  Church. 

The  meeting  of  this  Convention  was  preceded  and  attended  with 
meetings  for  prayer  in  various  parts  of  the  land,  and  followed  by  a 
series  of  Union  Conventions  in  different  localities,  accompanied,  in 
some  cases,  with  special  united  celebrations  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  all 
which  served  to  deepen  the  influence. 

In  the  month  of  March  following,  1868,  the  Joint  Committee  of 
Reunion  came  together  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  to  revise  and  com- 


2G6  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNIOIST. 

plete  their  Plan  of  Terms  to  be  recommended  to  the  General  Assem 
blies.  Vacancies  in  their  ranks  had  been  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
Dr.  J.  Edson  Rockwell,  in  the  place  of  Dr.  Krebs,  Dr.  George  F. 
Wiswell  in  the  place  of  Dr.  Brainerd,  and  Elder  Jacob  F.  Farrand,  in 
the  place  of  Elder  W.  H.  Brown,  since  deceased.  The  transactions 
of  the  eventful  past  year  were  before  them,  and  they  came  together 
with  the  earnest  desire,  on  all  hands,  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  case 
as  manifested  by  what  had  occurred. 

When  the  doctrinal  article  of  their  first  Report  came  before  them, 
the  members  of  the  Committee  from  the  New  School  were  satisfied  to 
let  it  stand  just  as  it  was.  The  resolutions  of  the  Convention  at 
Philadelphia  had  answered  their  end.  They  were  not  intended  for  a 
basis  for  Reunion  between  the  Old  and  New  Schools.  On  the  con 
trary,  they  expressly  disclaimed  any  such  purpose.  In  many  respects 
they  were  not  adapted  to  this  use.  But  those  of  the  Old  School 
greatly  preferred  the  doctrinal  Article  adopted  at  the  Convention,  es 
pecially  in  view  of  the  Smith  amendment,  popularly  so  called.  And 
those  of  the  New  School  were  quite  disposed  to  acquiesce,  provided 
that  Article  could  be  so  modified  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  demands  of  the 
case.  There  was  a  little  clause  in  the  original  Article  which  they 
thought  ought  to  he  retained,  viz.,  the  words  "  as  it  is  accepted  by 
the  two  bodies,"  thus  recognizing  the  equal  standing  of  both  churches 
in  respect  to  their  adoption  of  the  Confession.  But  this  was  objected 
to.  The  clause  had  met  with  misinterpretation  and  objection,  it  was 
said,  from  numbers  in  the  Old  School  body.  We  must  not  throw  it 
back  upon  them.  At  one  time,  there  was  danger  of  a  very  serious 
disagreement.  But  the  New  School  members  of  the  Committee,  wish 
ing  to  avoid  such  a  result,  offered  a  choice  of  three  distinct  proposi 
tions,  to  either  of  which  they  would  cheerfully  assent,  viz.,  to  take 
the  original  Article  formally  approved  by  one  of  the  Assemblies,  and 
not  disapproved  by  the  other,  just  as  it  stood.  2.  To  take  the  same 
Article,  with  the  addition  of  the  Smith  amendment,  and  with  no 
other  alteration.  3.  To  take  the  Philadelphia  Article,  including  the 
Smith  amendment,  with  the  insertion  of  the  clause  from  the  original 
plan,  slightly  modified  so  as  to  make  it  more  acceptable  ;  "  as  it  is 
now  maintained  by  both  the  separate  bodies."  In  case  these  should 
be  unacceptable,  their  brethren  of  the  other  side  must,  they  insisted, 
furnish  something  to  the  same  effect  more  satisfactory  to  themselves. 


THE   REUNION.  267 

It  was  in  these  circumstances  that  the  Gurley  amendment,  so  called, 
was  produced, 

The  circumstances  in  which  that  important  clause 
was  proposed,  will  never  be  forgotten  by  any  one  then 
present.  Most  of  the  day  had  been  spent  in  vain  at 
tempts  to  agree  upon  a  form  of  statement  which  would 
be  perfectly  satisfactory  to  all.  The  two  Committees 
held  separate  meetings  for  protracted  conference.  So 
difficult  was  it  found  to  be  to  frame  a  mode  of  expres 
sion  which  would  at  once  remove  all  existing  misappre 
hensions  and  not  be  liable  to  yet  other  misapprehensions 
on  one  side  or  the  other,  even  more  unhappy,  that  it  was 
seriously  debated  by  some  whether  it  would  not  be 
necessary  to  adjourn  all  farther  conference  and  report 
to  the  respective  Assemblies,  that  it  was  impossible  to 
agree  upon  a  doctrinal  article  not  open  to  objections 
and  implications,  such  as  had  become  apparent  in  pre 
vious  discussions. 

At  this  point  a  recess  of  some  two  hours  was  taken. 
It  was  with  heavy  hearts  that  the  Joint  Committee 
convened  ao-ain  in  the  afternoon. 

O 

Immediately  upon  the  opening  of  the  session,  Dr. 
Gurley  rose  and  said  that  instead  of  going  to  his  lodg 
ings  for  refreshment,  he  had  spent  the  intermission  in 
retirement  and  prayer,  greatly  oppressed  by  the  des 
pondent  attitude  of  affairs  at  the  time  of  the  morning 
adjournment;  and  as  the  result  of  his  earnest  delib 
eration,  he  would  propose  an  amended  form  of  ex 
pression  which  he  ventured  to  hope  might  harmonize 
all.  This  he  said  with  great  solemnity  of  manner  and 
depth  of  emotion.  It  should  be  observed  that  Dr. 
Gurley  at  this  time  was  in  very  feeble  health,  suffering 


268  PEESBYTEEIAN   KEUTSTION. 

greatly  from  that  painful  malady  which  in  the  course 
of  the  summer  carried  him  to  the  grave.  This  it  is  be 
lieved  was  the  last  public  service  rendered  by  this  most 
estimable  Christian  Minister.  His  amendment  was  in 
these  words :  "  It  is  also  understood  that  various  meth 
ods  of  viewing,  stating,  explaining,  and  illustrating  the 
doctrines  of  the  confession,  which  do  not  impair  tlie  in 
tegrity  of  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  system,  are  to  oe 
freely  allowed  in  the  United  Church,  as  they  have  hith 
erto  been  allowed  in  the  separate  Churches.'1'1  'No  sooner 
were  these  words  uttered,  than  it  was  apparent  that  they 
met  most  happily  all  the  points  of  the  case.  They  were 
instantly  referred  to  the  Sub-Committee  who  had  been 
charged  with  framing  the  doctrinal  article.  Withdraw 
ing  for  a  few  minutes  for  consultation,  they  returned 
with  the  cheerful  report  that  they  were  entirely  and 
heartily  agreed,  and  upon  their  recommendation  the 
proposed  amendment  was  adopted  by  a  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Joint  Committee.  Immediately  all  anxiety 
was  removed.  Despondency  was  succeeded  by  hearty 
joy;  with  tears  and  sobs  of  intense  emotion,  the  whole 
company  rendered  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  the 
happy  result  which  had  been  reached. 

The  difficulty  now  removed  had  not  been  owing  to 
any  misunderstanding  between  members  of  the  Com 
mittee.  It  arose  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  in  at 
tempting  to  adjust  existing  opinions  in  both  branches 
of  the  Church,  which  had  been  brought  out  with  great 
explicitness  in  the  debates  and  discussions  of  the  year. 
The  amendment  proposed  by  Dr.  Gurley  was  intended 
to  be  a  kind  and  suitable  balance  to  the  amendment  in 
troduced  by  Dr.  Smith  in  the  Philadelphia  Convention. 


THE    EEUNION.  269 

The  latter,  as  we  may  say,  was  designed  to  satisfy  the 
orthodox  demands  of  the  Old  School.  The  former  was 
intended  to  secure  that  reasonable  liberty  within  the 
limits  of  the  Presbyterian  System  for  which  the  New 
School  had  specially  contended.  This  article  thus 
amended  and  disposed  of,  all  other  terms  of  agreement 
were  readily  adjusted. 

The  result  of  all  the  deliberations  was  presented  in 
the  following  report,  made  to  the  two  Assemblies  meet 
ing  respectively  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Albany,  K  Y.,  in  May,  1868.  This  report  had  been 
prepared  by  the  Chairmen  of  the  two  Committees,  by 
order  of  the  Joint  Committee.  The  "  Terms  of  reunion  " 
had  been  decided  upon  in  exact  and  unalterable  phrase 
by  the  Committee  itself.  These,  it  was  thought,  should 
be  accompanied  by  suitable  explanations.  The  report 
thus  prepared  was  submitted  to  all  the  members  of  the 
Committee  who  had  taken  part  in  all  these  deliberations 
and  final  action,  and  received  their  approval. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  document  as  distinct  from 
the  terms  themselves  forms  a  part  of  the  history  of  re 
union,  and  is  reproduced  in  this  record  as  showing  the 
several  changes  which  had  been  made  in  the  original 

o  o 

report  the  year  previous,  as  also  the  understanding 
which  existed  at  the  time  by  members  of  the  Committee 
on  either  side.  It  was  read  in  both  Assemblies  at  the 
same  hour,  previously  agreed  upon,  and  in  precisely  the 
same  words,  without  addition  or  subtraction ;  the  only 
difference  being  that  in  the  one  Assembly  it  was  signed 
by  WILLIAM  ADAMS,  and  in  the  other  by  CHAELES  C. 
BEATTY,  as  Chairman. 


270  PEESBYTEEIAN   REUNION. 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  REUNION,  1868. 

The  Committee  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1866  to  con 
fer  with  a  similar  Committee  of  the  other  Assembly,  in  regard  to  the 
Reunion  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  con 
tinued  by  the  Assembly  of  1867,  with  directions  and  instructions  to 
co-operate  with  the  other  Committee  in  furtherance  of  the  object, 
and  "  report  to  the  General  Assemblies  of  1868  any  modification  of 
the  terms  of  Union  which  might  seem  desirable  to  the  Joint  Commit 
tee,  in  view  of  any  new  light  that  may  have  been  received  during  the 
year," — would  now  respectfully  report : 

That  the  two  Committees  again  assembled  in  joint  meeting,  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  on  Wednesday,  A.  M.,  the  llth  of  March,  1868, 
and  continued  in  conference,  reviewing  the  terms  of  Union  with  the 
further  light  which  they  had  received,  till  Saturday  afternoon,  the 
14th,  when,  having  finished  the  important  business  with  which  they 
were  intrusted,  they  finally  adjourned. 

Every  member  of  these  large  committees  was  present  with  the  excep 
tion  of  Rev.  Dr.  Hitchcock,  of  Ohio,  absent  in  Europe ;  Rev.  Dr.  How 
ard,  of  Pennsylvania,  detained  by  severe  illness  ;  and  Judge  Strong, 
of  Missouri,  prevented  by  unavoidable  professional  engagements. 
Rev.  Dr.  Patterson,  of  Illinois,  arrived  from  a  foreign  voyage,  after  a 
long  absence,  in  season  to  meet  the  Committee ;  but  feeling  himself 
obliged  to  leave  for  home  on  Thursday  afternoon,  did  not  participate 
in  the  final  action.  This  large  and  patient  attendance  was  a  new  in 
dication  of  the  deep  interest  which  is  felt  throughout  the  country  in 
the  subject  under  consideration,  and  also  of  the  profound  sense  of  re 
sponsibility  on  the  part  of  the  several  members  of  the  Joint  Commit 
tee,  charged  to  take  action  in  a  matter  which  must  affect  extensively 
and  permanently  the  interests  of  our  country  and  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

To  our  regret,  the  report  expected  from  the  legal  advisers  appointed 
to  investigate  questions  of  property  and  vested  rights  was  not  re 
ceived,  owing  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Daniel  Lord,  and  the  fact  that 
Judges  Strong  and  Sharswood  had  declined  to  act  in  the  premises, 
because  of  their  present  official  position  on  the  Bench.  After  filling 
a  vacancy  by  the  appointment  of  Hon.  William  M.  Porter,  of  Phila 
delphia,  we  requested  the  Legal  Committee  to  meet  as  soon  as  practi- 


THE  EEmaoN.  271 


cable  and  prepare  their  report,  •which  will   be  submitted  by  them 
directly  to  the  Assemblies. 

To  affirm  that  all  the  meetings  of  the  Joint  Committee  were  distin 
guished,  as  heretofore,  by  Christian  courtesy  and  kindness,  would  be 
but  a  faint  expression  of  the  truth.  This  sentiment  of  fraternal  con 
fidence  and  regard  assumed  such  forms  of  expression,  that  all  who 
participated  in  the  conference  will  be  sure  to  remember  it,  as  one  of 
the  greatest  and  happiest  privileges  of  their  lives.  This  kindness  of 
feeling,  however,  did  not  repress  or  modify  the  utmost  frankness  in 
the  statement  of  difficulties,  real  and  alleged,  on  either  side.  It  ought 
to  be  stated  distinctly,  in  justice  to  all  the  many  interests  and  sec 
tions  represented  by  these  Committees,  that  there  was  not  the  least 
reserve  in  the  expression  of  the  objections,  which  had  been  urged  in 
any  quarter,  against  the  proposed  Reunion.  So  frank  and  explicit 
was  this  utterance,  that  at  times  it  appeared  as  if  honest  differences 
of  opinion  would  render  success  uncertain.  But  the  effect  of  con 
tinued  and  candid  conference  was  the  increase  of  confidence,  through 
the  correction  of  misapprehensions  and  the  removal  of  obstacles,  so 
that  the  very  clouds,  which  threatened  to  obscure  the  light,  arranged 
themselves  at  last  so  as  to  reflect  and  increase  what  they  could  not 
hide.  The  prayers  of  many  Churches  and  Conventions,  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  known  to  the  Committee  to  be  ascending  to 
God  in  their  behalf,  were  abundantly  answered  in  the  entire  harmony 
and  unanimity  to  which  they  eventually  attained.  By  this  unanimity 
it  is  not  meant,  that  in  every  article  and  act  of  the  Committee  the 
preferences  of  each  member  were  fully  met;  but  that  all  were  finally 
agreed,  that  the  basis  of  Union  now  to  be  reported  was,  in  the  cir 
cumstances,  the  best  that  could  be  framed  in  the  way  of  adjusting  di 
vers  conflicting  views  and  interests  ;  and  as  such  it  was  adopted,  in 
the  final  vote,  with  entire  unanimity,  pledges  of  cordial  support,  and 
sincere  thanks  to  Almighty  God. 

Your  Committee  are  fully  persuaded  that,  if  the  ministers,  elders, 
and  members  of  both  branches  of  the  Church  had  been  present  at 
our  recent  conferences,  seen  what  we  saw,  and  heard  what  we  heard, 
they  would  heartily  join  in  the  result  which  was  reached  by  their 
representatives.  With  this  belief,  the  Committee  have  judged  it  ex 
pedient  and  proper  to  accompany  their  report  with  such  explanatory 


272  PEESBYTEEIAN   KEUNTON. 

words  as  may  serve  to  convey  to  others  the  facts  and  motives  which 
proved  of  such  weight  to  themselves. 

Your  Committee  were  not  at  liberty  to  forget  or  overlook  the  prem 
ises  upon  which  they  received  their  appointment.  The  Resolution  of 
the  General  Assembly  (O.  S.)  in  which  this  movement  originated, 
expressed  the  "  earnest  desire "  of  that  body  "  for  Reunion  at  the 
earliest  time  consistent  with  agreement  in  doctrine,  order,  and  polity, 
on  the  basis  of  our  common  standards  and  the  prevalence  of  mutual 
confidence  and  love."  The  General  Assembly  (N.  S.),  in  responding 
to  this  action  by  a  similar  vote,  expressed  "  its  earnest  wish  for  Re 
union"  on  a  similar  basis. 

This  EARNEST  DESIRE  for  Union,  as  confessed  by  both  bodies,  is  a 
fact  which  antedates  the  appointment  of  your  Committee.  They  were 
not  commissioned  to  inquire  whether  it  existed,  or  to  take  measures 
to  excite  and  promote  it.  The  existence  of  this  acknowledged  senti 
ment  was  the  basis  upon  which  the  two  Committees  were  appointed. 
These  premises  assumed,  the  position  occupied  by  the  Joint  Commit 
tee,  and  the  point  of  view  from  which  they  should  survey  their  work, 
were  already  decided  by  both  Assemblies. 

The  desirableness  of  Reunion,  if  it  can  be  consummated  on  satis 
factory  terms,  is  not  to  be  treated  and  put  aside  as  a  blind  and  imbe 
cile  impulse  :  it  is  the  act  and  expression  of  Christian  wisdom.  The 
movement,  thus  inaugurated  and  advanced,  was  not  made  necessary 
by  the  condition  or  prospects  of  either  of  the  bodies  now  in  conference. 
Each  is  thoroughly  organized,  equipped,  and  prosperous.  Neither 
needs  the  accession  of  the  other  for  its  own  sake  merely.  The  motives 
which  impel  to  Union  are  higher  and  greater  than  any  which  pertain 
to  denominational  advantage.  They  relate  to  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  country,  and  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  in  all  the  earth.  On 
this  high  ground,  chosen  for  them  in  the  providence  of  God,  by  the 
action  of  both  Assemblies,  the  two  Committees  took  their  stand,  in 
clined  in  advance,  when  any  concessions  were  to  be  made,  that  the 
lesser  preference  should  defer  to  the  greater  and  the  stronger. 

The  changes  which  have  occurred  in  our  own  country  and  throughout 
the  world,  during  the  last  thirty  years  —  the  period  of  our  separation 
—  arrest  and  compel  attention.  Within  this  time  the  original  number 
of  our  States  has  been  very  nearly  doubled.  It  was  in  the  year  1837 
that  what  is  now  the  great  and  prosperous  State  of  Michigan  was 


THE    EEUNION.  273 

admitted  into  the  Union.  Florida,  Texas,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Califor 
nia,  Minnesota,  Oregon,  Kansas,  Nevada,  Nebraska,  have  followed  in 
rapid  succession ;  with  numerous  territories  already  organized,  soon 
to  take  their  places  in  the  National  Union.  And  all  this  vast  domain 
is  to  be  supplied  with  the  means  of  education  and  the  institutions  of 
religion,  as  the  only  source  and  protection  of  our  national  life.  The 
population  crowding  into  this  immense  area  is  heterogeneous.  Six 
millions  of  emigrants,  representing  various  religions  and  nationalities, 
have  arrived  on  our  shores  within  the  last  thirty  years ;  and  four 
millions  of  slaves  recently  enfranchised,  demand  Christian  education. 
It  is  no  secret  that  anti-Christian  forces,  —  Romanism,  Ecclesiasticism, 
Rationalism,  Infidelity,  Materialism,  and  Paganism  itself, —  assuming 
new  vitality,  are  struggling  for  the  ascendancy.  Christian  forces 
should  be  combined  and  deployed,  according  to  the  new  movement  of 
their  adversaries.  It  is  no  time  for  small  and  weak  detachments, 
which  may  easily  be  defeated  in  detail.  A  lesson  has  been  given  us 
in  recent  years,  as  to  the  ease  with  which  diversities  of  sentiment 
may  be  harmonized  and  combined  in  one  purpose  to  maintain  the 
national  life.  The  time  has  come  when  minor  motives  shoiild  be 
merged  in  the  magnanimous  purpose,  inspired  both  by  patriotism  and 
religion,  to  Christianize  the  whole  country. 

The  necessity  of  a  closer  union  among  Christians  of  a  common 
faith  and  order  has  come  to  be  felt,  in  a  new  sense,  by  the  members 
of  our  several  Churches.  It  cannot  be  denied,  that  there  exists  a 
wide-spread  and  earnest  longing  for  more  of  visible  unity  among  all 
classes  of  Christian  people.  This  is  especially  noticeable  among  the 
most  intelligent,  active,  and  generous  in  our  connection.  Respond 
ing  to  the  teachings  and  challenges  of  the  pulpit,  the  laity  in  our  large 
cities  and  towns  have  entered  upon  a  new  stage  of  Christian  activity, 
demonstrating  the  possibility  of  practical  union  in  the  stewardship  of 
Christ.  In  many  quarters  there  is  an  evident  increase  of  evangelic 
life  and  energy.  With  these  facts  well  authenticated  before  them, 
your  Committee  feel  that,  should  the  elements  now  stirred  and  con 
verging  toward  union  be  diverted  and  repelled  from  their  object,  the 
effect  would  be  most  disastrous  on  the  prospects  of  true  religion.  If 
the  hearts  of  Christian  people,  combined  already  throughout  the  land 
in  Christian  work,  should  be  disappointed  as  to  that  organic  union 
which  they  crave,  and  this  through  differences  asserted  by  the  clergy, 
18 


274  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

which  the  laity  either  do  not  understand  or  with  which  they  have  no 
sympathy,  the  certain  effect  will  be  to  lessen  the  sentiment  of  respect 
and  confidence  on  their  part  toward  their  appointed  leaders,  and 
weaken  the  force  of  paramount  motives. 

Nor  is  the  proposed  Union  desirable  on  our  own  account  only.  It 
is  inevitable  that  its  effects  should  be  felt  throughout  the  whole  of 
Christendom.  Many  of  the  ecclesiastical  organizations  of  Protestant 
Europe  had  their  origin  in  remote  controversies  connected  with  the 
Reformation.  That  was  a  time  for  the  assertion  of  truth,  rather 
than  for  the  expression  of  love.  It  was  not  so  much  a  season  for  ex 
tending  Christianity  as  for  purifying  and  preparing  it  for  future  ag 
gression.  If  we  must  judge  now,  that  segregation  was  then  carried  to 
an  extreme  beyond  what  was  required  by  necessity  and  Christian 
charity,  surely  we  possess  peculiar  advantages  in  this  country  and  age, 
for  availing  ourselves  of  a  wiser  and  happier  policy.  Nothing  is  so 
long-lived  and  inveterate  as  ancestral  memories  and  prejudices.  Be 
fore  the  world  we  are  now  engaged,  as  a  nation,  in  solving  the  prob 
lem  whether  it  is  possible  for  all  the  incongruous  and  antagonistic 
nationalities  thrown  upon  our  shores,  exerting  their  mutual  attraction 
and  repulsion,  to  become  fused  in  one  new  American  sentiment.  If 
the  several  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  country,  rep 
resenting  to  a  great  degree  ancestral  differences,  should  become  cor 
dially  united,  it  must  have  not  only  a  direct  effect  upon  the  question 
of  our  national  unity,  but,  reacting  by  the  force  of  a  successful  exam 
ple  on  the  Old  World,  must  render  aid  in  that  direction,  to  all  who 
are  striving  to  reconsider  and  readjust  those  combinations,  which  had 
their  origin  either  in  the  faults  or  the  necessities  of  a  remote  past. 
The  results  of  our  present  movement  are  eagerly  observed  by  many, 
and  its  success  or  failure  must  inevitably  affect  other  efforts,  at  home 
and  abroad,  looking  to  the  consolidation  of  other  branches  of  the 
Christian  Church ;  nor  can  we  doubt  that,  if  any  hindrance  should 
frustrate  the  consummation  of  that  Union  now  contemplated  by  our 
selves,  a  pang  of  grief  and  disappointment  would  be  felt  not  only  in 
our  own  country,  but  throughout  Protestant  Christendom. 

The  third  of  a  century,  the  life  of  a  whole  generation,  has  indeed 
wrought  wondrous  changes,  of  the  greatest  promise  for  the  future. 
Another  order  of  things  exists.  Old  causes  of  irritation  are  removed. 
A  new  generation  in  the  ministry  and  the  membership  of  the  church 


THE  EEuisnoisr.  275 

has  arisen,  with  little  sympathy  for  those  controversies  that  resulted 
in  division.  A  new  evangelic  spirit  is  abroad,  like  the  breath  of 
spring,  inviting  to  a  new  style  of  action. 

It  would  have  betrayed  a  criminal  temper,  on  the  part  of  your 
Committee,  had  they  been  indifferent  to  those  events  and  sentiments  to 
which  they  owe  their  own  appointment,  and  under  the  influence  of 
which  they  addressed  themselves  honestly,  patiently,  and  prayerfully, 
to  the  duty  assigned  to  them.  The  result  of  their  deliberation  is 
embodied  in  the  following  document,  which  they  now  submit  for  the 
consideration  of  the  Assemblies  :  — 

PROPOSED  TERMS  OF  REUNION  BETWEEN  THE  TWO  BRANCHES  OF  THE 
PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

The  Joint  Committee  of  the  two  General  Assemblies  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Church,  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  on  the  de 
sirableness  and  practicability  of  uniting  these  two  bodies,  deeply 
impressed  with  the  responsibility  of  the  work  assigned  us,  and  hav 
ing  earnestly  sought  Divine  guidance,  and  patiently  devoted  our 
selves  to  the  investigation  of  the  question  involved,  agree  in  pre 
senting  the  following  for  the  consideration,  and,  if  they  see  fit,  for  the 
adoption  of  the  two  General  Assemblies. 

Believing  that  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  would  be 
promoted  by  healing  our  divisions ;  that  practical  union  would 
greatly  augment  the  efficiency  of  the  whole  Church  for  the  accom 
plishment  of  its  divinely  appointed  work ;  that  the  main  causes  pro 
ducing  division  have  either  wholly  passed  away,  or  become  so  far 
inoperative,  as  that  Reunion  is  now  "  consistent  with  agreement  in 
doctrine,  order,  and  polity,  on  the  basis  of  our  common  standards, 
and  the  prevalence  of  mutual  confidence  and  love ; "  and  that  two 
bodies,  bearing  the  same  name,  adopting  the  same  Constitution,  and 
claiming  the  same  corporate  rights,  cannot  be  justified  by  any  but 
the  most  imperative  reasons  in  maintaining  separate  and,  in  some 
respects,  rival  organizations ;  and  regarding  it  as  both  just  and 
proper  that  a  Reunion  should  be  effected  by  the  two  Churches,  as 
independent  bodies,  and  on  equal  terms,  we  propose  the  following 
Terms  and  Recommendations,  as  suited  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
case : 

1.  The  Reunion  shall  be  effected  on  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical 


276  PEESBYTEEIAN 


basis  of  our  common  standards  ;  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  shall  be  acknowledged  to  be  the  inspired  Word  of  God, 
and  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice  ;  the  Confession  of 
Faith  shall  continue  to  be  sincerely  received  and  adopted,  "  as  con 
taining  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  "  it 
being  understood,  that  this  Confession  is  received  in  its  proper,  his 
torical  —  that  is,  the  Calvinistic  or  Reformed  —  sense  ;  it  is  also 
understood  that  various  methods  of  viewing,  stating,  explaining,  and 
illustrating,  the  doctrines  of  the  Confession,  which  do  not  impair  the 
integrity  of  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  system,  are  to  be  freely 
allowed  in  the  United  Church,  as  they  have  hitherto  been  allowed 
in  the  separate  Churches  :  and  the  Government  and  Discipline  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  shall  be  approved 
as  containing  the  principles  and  rule  of  our  polity. 

2.  All  the  ministers  and  churches,  embraced  in  the  two  bodies,  shall 
be  admitted  to  the  same  standing  in  the  united  body  which  they 
may  hold   in  their  respective  connections  up  to  the  consummation 
of  the  union;  imperfectly  organized  churches  shall  be  counselled  and 
expected  to  become  thoroughly  Presbyterian,  as   early,  within  the 
period  of  five  years,  as  is  permitted  by  the  highest  interests  to  be 
consulted  ;  and  no  other  such  churches  shall  be  hereafter  received. 

3.  The  boundaries  of  the  several  Presbyteries  and  Synods  shall  be 
adjusted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  United  Church. 

4.  The  official  records  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Church,  for  the 
period  of  separation,  shall  be  preserved  and  held  as  making  up  the 
one  history  of  the  Church  ;  and  no  rule  or  precedent,  which  does  not 
stand  approved  by  both  the  bodies,  shall  be  of  any  authority,  until 
re-established  in  the  united  body,  except  in  so  far  as  such  rule  or 
precedent  may  affect  the  rights  of  property  founded  thereon. 

5.  The1  corporate  rights,  now  held  by  the  two  General  Assemblies, 
and  by  their  Boards  and  Committees,  shall,  as  far  as  practicable,  be 
consolidated,  and  applied  for  their  several  objects,  as  defined  by  law. 

6.  There  shall  be  one  set  of  Committees  or  Boards  for  Home  and 
Foreign  Missions,  and  the  other  religious  enterprises  of  the  Church, 
which  the  churches  shall  be  encouraged  to  sustain,  though  free  to 
cast  their  contributions  into  other  channels,  if  they  desire  to  do  so. 

7.  As  soon  as  practicable  after  the  union  shall  be  effected,  the 
General   Assembly  shall    reconstruct    and   consolidate   the   several 


THE    REUNION  277 

permanent  Committees  and  Boards,  which  now  belong  to  the  two 
Assemblies,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  represent,  as  far  as  possible,  with 
impartiality,  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  two  bodies  constituting  the 
United  Church. 

8.  The  publications  of  the  Board  of  Publication,  and  of  the  Pub 
lication  Committee,  shall  continue  to  be  issued  as  at  present,  leaving 
it  to  the  Board  of  Publication  of  the  United  Church  to  revise  these 
issues,  and  perfect  a  catalogue  for  the  joint  Church,  so  as  to  exclude 
invidious  references  to  past  controversies. 

9.  In   order   to   a   uniform  system  of  ecclesiastical   supervision, 
those  Theological  Seminaries  that  are  now  under  Assembly  control 
may,  if  their  Boards  of  direction  so  elect,  be  transferred  to  the  watch 
and  care  of  one  or  more  of  the  adjacent  Synods ;  and  the  other  Sem 
inaries  are  advised  to  introduce,  as  far  as  may  be,  into  their  Consti 
tutions,  the   principle    of   Synodical  or  Assembly   supervision ;    in 
which  case,  they  shall  be  entitled  to  an  official  recognition  and  ap 
probation  on  the  part  of  the  General  Assembly. 

10.  It  is   agreed  that  the  Presbyteries   possess  the  right  to  ex 
amine   ministers  applying  for  admission  from   other   Presbyteries ; 
but  each  Presbytery  shall  be  left  free  to  decide  for  itself  when  it 
shall  exercise  the  right. 

11.  It  shall  be  regarded  as  the  duty  of  all  our  judicatories,  min 
isters,  and  people  in  the  United  Church,  to  study  the  things  which 
make  for  peace,  and  to  guard  against  all  needless  and  offensive  refer 
ences  to  the  causes  that  have  divided  us ;  and,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
revival  of  past   issues,  by  the  continuance  of  any  usage  in  either 
branch  of  the  Church  that  has  grown  out  of  our  former  conflicts,  it 
is  earnestly  recommended  to  the  lower  judicatories  of  the  Church, 
that  they  conform  their  practice  in  relation  to  all  such  usages,  as  far 
as  is  consistent  with  their  convictions  of  duty,  to  the  general  cus 
tom  of  the  Church  prior  to  the  controversies  that  resulted  in  the 
separation. 

12.  The  Terms  of  the  Reunion,  if  they  are  approved  by  the  General 
Assemblies  of  1868,  shall  be  overtured  to  the  several  Presbyteries 
iinder  their  care,  and  shall  be  of  binding  force,  if  they  are  ratified  by 
three  fourths  of  the  Presbyteries  connected  with  each  branch  of  the 
Church,  within  one  year  after  they  shall  have  been  submitted  to 
them  for  approval. 


278  PEESBYTEEIAN    KEUNION". 

13.  If  the  two  General  Assemblies  of  1869  shall  find  that  the  plan 
of  Reunion  has  been  ratified  by  the  requisite  number  of  Presbyteries 
in  each  body,  they  shall,  after  the  conclusion  of  all  their  business,  be 
dissolved  by  their  respective  Moderators,  in  the  manner  and  form 
following,  viz. :  Each  Moderator  shall  address  the  Assembly  over 
which  he  presides,  saying,  "  By  virtue  of  the  authority  delegated  to 
me  by  the  Church,  and  in  conformity  with  the  Plan  of  Union 
adopted  by  the  two  Presbyterian  Churches,  let  this  Assembly  be 
dissolved ;  and  I  do  hereby  dissolve  it,  and  require  a  General  Assem 
bly  chosen  in  the  same  manner,  by  all  the  Prebyteries  in  connection 
with  this  body,  and  all  those  in  connection  with  the  General  Assem 
bly  meeting  this  year  in ,  to  meet  in  —  — ,  on  the 

—  day  of  May,  A.  D.   1870;  and    I  do   hereby  declare    and 
proclaim,  that  the  General  Assembly  thus  constituted  will  be  the 
rightful  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  now,  by  the  grace  of  God,  happily  united." 
Signed,  by  order  of  the  Joint  Committee. 

CHARLES  C.  BEATTY,  Chairman. 

EDWIN  F.  HATFIELD,  Secretary. 
PHILADELPHIA,  March  14,  A.  D.  1868. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  Committee  have  agreed  upon  a  few 
modifications  of  the  Basis  of  Union  reported  in  May,  1867;  this, 
not  so  much  from  any  change  of  opinion  on  their  own  part,  as  with 
a  view,  if  possible,  of  preventing  or  correcting  misapprehension,  and 
to  meet,  more  fully,  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  bodies  which  they 
represent. 

In  reference  to  the  First  Article,  containing  the  doctrinal  basis, 
the  language  employed  is  so  explicit,  that  the  Committee  believe  it 
will  prove  satisfactory  to  all  who  desire  union  on  the  terms  of  Chris 
tian  confidence  and  honor.  First  of  all,  following  the  order  of  the 
"  Constitutional  Questions "  proposed  by  our  Form  of  Government 
to  all  who  are  ordained  to  the  Ministry  and  Eldership  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Church,  we  assert  the  great  Protestant  principle  —  the  sole 
supremacy  and  undivided  authority  of  the  Word  of  God,  in  all  mat 
ters  of  faith  and  practice :  assigning  to  this  the  foremost  place  above 
Church,  Creed,  Confession,  School,  and  System. 

Magnifying  the  Inspired  Scriptures,  we  next  adopt,  indorse,  and 


THE  KEinaoN.  279 


honor,  our  common  Confession,  as  "containing  the  system  of  doc 
trine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures."  So  far  as  they  were  con 
cerned  themselves,  the  Committees  would  have  been  content  to  rest 
in  this  prescribed  form  of  words,  as  received  and  used  by  Christian 
Brethren.  Unhappily,  misapprehension,  prejudices,  and  distrust  are 
engendered  by  divisions,  to  obviate  which  the  Committee  have  en 
deavored  to  modify  the  language  of  their  former  report,  thought  by 
some  to  be  ambiguous,  so  as  to  make  it  precise,  without  surmising  or 
exaggerating  differences  of  opinion. 

In  their  judgment,  the  line  of  distinction  between  the  two  Assem 
blies,  as  now  drawn,  does  not  consist,  as  some  have  supposed,  merely 
in  theological  diversities.  The  same  confession  is  adopted  by  all. 
It  is  adopted  in  the  same  terms  as  containing  the  same  system.  To 
make  this  agreement  the  more  determinate,  the  Committee  have 
given  this  system  its  historic  name.  At  the  same  time  that  we  mu 
tually  interchange  these  guarantees  for  orthodoxy,  we  mutually  in 
terchange  guarantees  for  Christian  liberty.  Differences  always  have 
existed  and  been  allowed  in  the  Presbyterian  Churches  in  Europe 
and  America,  as  to  modes  of  explaining  and  theorizing  within  the 
metes  and  bounds  of  the  one  accepted  system.  What  exists  in  fact, 
we  have  undertaken  to  express  in  words.  To  put  into  exact  formu 
las  what  opinions  should  be  allowed  and  what  interdicted,  would  be 
to  write  a  new  Confession  of  Faith.  This,  neither  Branch  of  the 
Church  desires.  Your  Committee  have  assumed  no  such  work  of 
supererogation.  Neither  have  they  made  compromises  or  conces 
sions.  They  append  no  codicil  to  the  old  Symbols.  They  have  as 
serted,  as  being  essential  to  all  true  unity,  the  necessity  of  adopting 
the  same  Confession  and  the  same  System,  with  the  recognition  of 
liberty  on  either  hand,  for  such  differences  as  do  not  impair  the  in 
tegrity  of  the  system  itself;  which  is  all  the  liberty  that  any  branch 
of  the  great  Calvinistic  family  of  Churches  has  ever  claimed  or  de 
sired.  Your  Committee  cannot  see  how  it  was  possible  for  them  to 
employ  language  more  precise  and  guarded,  unless  they  were  pre 
pared  to  substitute  "  private  interpretations  "  for  the  recognized 
standards  of  the  Church.  To  go  further  in  either  direction  than 
they  have  done,  would  certainly  lead  to  useless  and  endless  "  strifes 
of  words."  Language  somewhere  must  find  a  limit.  It  would  be 
impossible  so  to  frame  expressions  on  this  subject,  that  those  who  are 


280  PEESBYTEEIAIST   REUNION, 

opposed  to  Reunion  may  not  find  occasion  to  cavil  and  object.  But 
the  Committee  hope  and  trust  that  the  Article  now  reported  will 
commend  itself  to  all  fair-minded  men,  as  containing  what  is  precise, 
yet  not  exclusive ;  definite,  yet  not  rigid ;  specific,  yet  not  inflexible ; 
liberal,  without  laxity;  catholic,  without  latitudinarianism.  If  ex 
act  uniformity  in  all  shades  of  opinion,  in  technical  adjustments,  in 
philosophic  theories,  be  regarded  as  essential  to  union,  we  should 
earnestly  recommend  the  indefinite  adjournment  of  the  present  move 
ment.  Nor  would  consistency  allow  us  to  rest  here;  our  present 
organizations  should  be  dissolved  and  exchanged  for  disintegration 
and  individualism. 

Nothing  need  be  said  in  vindication  of  the  /Second  Article,  to 
those  who  are  fully  informed  concerning  the  churches  referred  to 
therein.  Your  Committee  had  to  deal,  not  with  abstractions,  but 
with  facts  and  realities.  The  churches  here  described  originated  in 
a  policy  which  was  itself  inaugurated  by  a  remote  necessity ;  their 
number  is  limited,  and  cannot  be  increased;  the  terms  of  their  rela 
tionship  are  prescribed  and  limited  also;  their  Presbyterian  relation 
ship  is  at  present  cordial,  happy,  and  eminently  useful ;  and  some  of 
them  are  deemed,  by  the  Presbyteries  with  which  they  are  connected, 
as  among  their  most  efficient  and  excellent  churches.  As  nothing  is 
intended  by  our  action  to  disturb  the  present  relations  of  these 
churches,  so  nothing  is  designed  to  be  done,  at  any  time,  which  can 
be  regarded  as  inconsistent  with  good  faith  and  honor;  but  such 
statements  were  made  by  those  members  of  the  Joint  Committee 
more  immediately  representing  the  sections  of  country  in  which 
these  churches  exist,  as  led  the  Committee  to  believe,  that  the 
friendly  counsel  contained  in  this  Article  would  prove  not  unaccept 
able  to  these  churches  themselves,  and  that  the  specification  of  a  defi 
nite  time  might  be  an  aid  to  them  in  perfecting  that  organization 
which  is  now  suggested  by  Christian  expediency. 

The  several  Articles,  which  contemplate  the  combination  and  re 
adjustment  of  the  respective  Boards  and  Committees  of  the  two  As 
semblies,  look  only  to  economy  and  increased  efficiency. 

The  recommendation  contained  in  the  Eighth  Article  calls  for  the 
briefest  explanation,  as  it  is  believed  that  it  will  prove  more  satis 
factory  than  the  former  Article,  to  which  various  objections  were 
made.  No  disposition  was  manifest  in  the  Committee  to  press  in- 


THE    KEUNION.  281 

vidious  distinctions  and  preferences.  Neither  Publishing  Committee 
is  to  supersede  or  indorse  the  other.  Both,  earnestly  engaged  at 
present  in  publishing  what  is  received  by  the  churches  at  large  as 
valuable  literature  in  theology  and  practical  religion,  are  advised  to 
continue  as  now  organized,  till  such  a  new  Board  or  Committee  shall 
be  appointed  in  the  United  Church,  as,  it  may  be  supposed,  would  be 
prompted  by  every  instinct  of  Christian  propriety  to  omit  painful 
and  invidious  references  to  past  strifes,  leaving  undisturbed  what  is 
now,  and  ever  must  be,  highly  prized  by  all  our  ministers  and 
churches. 

As  to  the  action  of  the  Committee  concerning  Theological  Semi 
naries,  as  embodied  in  Article  Ninth  of  their  report,  all  difficulty 
springs  from  the  obvious  fact,  that  there  is  no  authority  which  is 
competent  to  forbid  the  endowment  of  Seminaries  at  any  time  by 
any  individuals  in  our  connection.  Those  Theological  Seminaries 
which  are  now  independent  of  ecclesiastical  control,  were  founded 
before  the  disruption,  and  endowed  by  men  representing  alike  what 
are  now  known  as  Old  and  New  School  Churches.  What  was  done 
then,  may  be  repeated  again.  A.  recommendation,  looking  to  some 
uniformity  of  ecclesiastical  supervision,  is  all  which  the  Committee 
felt  to  be  within  their  province  or  that  of  the  Assembly ;  except  that 
those  Seminaries,  now  belonging  to  either  branch  of  the  Church, 
should  have  every  guarantee  and  protection  for  their  chartered  rights 
which  they  might  desire. 

A  new  Article,  here  designated  as  the  Tenth,  has  been  introduced, 
in  which  some  concession  has  been  made  on  both  sides,  designed  to 
reconcile  conflicting  claims  and  usages.  Many  churches  and  Presby 
teries,  in  both  Assemblies,  claim  the  right,  as  now  expressed  in  for 
mal  vote,  of  pronouncing  upon  the  expediency  of  admitting,  to  their 
own  membership,  those  who  bear  testimonials  from  correlative 
bodies.  One  Assembly  now  makes  this  obligatory  upon  all  the 
Presbyteries.  The  Committee  recommend  the  recognition  of  the 
right,  and  the  abolition  of  the  imperative  rule.  As  all  difficulties 
springing  from  this  cause  had  their  origin  in  times  of  suspicion  and 
distrust  which,  it  is  hoped,  are  passing  away,  it  is  believed  that  the 
whole  matter  may  safely  be  left  to  adjust  itself  in  a  new  era  of  confi 
dence  and  harmony.  In  this  connection,  however,  the  Committee 
would  particularly  refer  to  the  next  Article  (No.  11),  which  empha- 


282  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNIOIT. 

sizes  the  duty  of  all  our  judicatories  to  study  the  things  which  make 
for  peace,  and  earnestly  recommends  to  the  Presbyteries  to  conform 
to  earlier  and  more  ancient  usages.  The  examination  of  ministers 
passing  from  one  Presbytery  to  another  is  altogether  unknown  to 
the  Presbyterian  Churches  of  Scotland  and  Ireland ;  nor  was  it  orig 
inally  practised  in  our  own.  The  extent  of  territory  covered  by  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  may  have  been  one  reason 
for  another  method,  in  later  years,  in  our  own  country ;  but,  inas 
much  as  the  right  and  usage  asserted  and  defended  by  some,  and  de 
nied  and  discarded  by  others,  were  related  to  controversies  which  are 
past,  the  Committee  are  confident  that  practical  difficulties,  from  this 
quarter,  will  be  obviated  by  the  adoption  of  their  entire  action  in 
the  premises.  Amid  the  diversified  practices  which  now  prevail  as 
to  this  subject  in  both  branches  of  the  Church,  this  recommendation 
of  the  Committee  was  designed  to  allay,  and  not  to  promote  distrust 
and  suspicion. 

That  some  changes  must  be  made  in  the  present  method  and  ratio 
of  representation,  is  apparent  from  the  size  of  the  two  Assemblies. 
Differences  of  opinion  also  have  long  existed  in  both  branches,  as  to 
the  powers  and  prerogatives  of  the  General  Assembly,  as  now  exer 
cised.  Many  are  jealous  and  apprehensive  lest  these  may  transcend 
the  limits  of  expediency  and  Constitutional  Law.  Whether  the  pro 
posed  Reunion  would  create  the  necessity  of  enlarging  the  authority 
of  the  local  Synods  and  modifying  somewhat  the  power  and  province 
of  the  General  Assembly,  is  a  subject  upon  which,  as  not  having 
been  referred  to  them,  the  Committees  have  not  felt  at  liberty  to 
make  suggestions  or  to  take  action,  beyond  that  of  commending  it  to 
the  attention  of  the  two  Assemblies,  which  they  do  in  the  following 
terms,  to  wit :  — 

' '  The  Joint  Committee  recommend  that  each  of  the  two  General  Assem 
blies  of  1868,  appoint  a  Committee  of  five,  to  constitute  a  Joint  Committee 
of  ten,  whose  duty  shall  be  to  prepare  and  propose  to  the  first  General  As 
sembly  of  the  United  Church  a  proper  adjustment  of  the  boundaries  of  Pres 
byteries  and  Synods. 

"This  Committee  shall  also  recommend  to  the  General  Assembly  any 
amendments  of  the  Constitution,  which  they  may  think  necessary  to  secure 
efficiency  and  harmony  in  the  administration  of  a  Church  so  greatly  enlarged 
and  so  rapidly  extending." 


THE    REUNION.  283 

Tims  have  the  Committee  discharged  the  duty  with  which  they 
were  intrusted.  Having  acted  to  the  best  of  their  ability,  according 
to  all  the  wisdom  they  could  command,  their  responsibility  ceases. 
The  grave  necessity  of  decisive  action  is  now  devolved  on  the  respec 
tive  Assemblies  and  Presbyteries  of  the  Church.  That  this  respon 
sibility  transcends  what  ordinarily  occurs  in  the  life  of  men,  no  one 
will  question. 

The  Union  contemplated  in  this  report  is  one  based  on  "  mutual 
confidence  and  love."  The  Committees  are  aware  that  they  have 
personally  enjoyed  peculiar  opportunities,  in  the  way  of  intimate  fra 
ternal  intercourse,  for  the  cultivation  and  expression  of  these  Chris 
tian  sentiments.  Whatever  differences  may  exist  among  themselves 
on  subordinate  matters,  they  have  come  to  rest  in  mutual  confidence 
concerning  that  which  is  of  paramount  importance.  If  the  same  sen 
timent  prevails  throughoiit  the  whole  Church,  organic  Union  cannot 
be  prevented ;  if  it  should  prove  to  be  wanting,  no  technical  formu 
las,  no  cautious  definitions,  no  well-guarded  conditions,  can  produce 
union  of  any  value  or  permanence.  There  is  a  so-called  unity,  which 
is  like  the  freezing  together  into  one  solid  mass  of  all  incongruous 
and  heterogeneous  substances.  Such  icy  compression  is  undesirable. 
There  is  another  unity,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  compared  to  the 
living  "  body  fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that  which 
every  joint  supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  every  part,"  making  "  increase  of  the  body  unto  the 
edifying  of  itself  in  love.'''1  Such  is  the  Divine  model  of  ecclesiasti 
cal  Union,  combining  diversity  and  harmony,  liberty  and  love,  and 
the  whole  instinct  with  life,  and  predestined  to  growth  and  perfec 
tion.  Love  demands  few  conditions,  and  confidence  builds  on  some 
thing  better  than  verbal  guarantees.  Your  Committee  have  never 
expected  to  reconcile  all  local  interests,  all  private  preferences,  all 
personal  memories  and  prejudices.  Content  are  they,  if  the  Articles 
of  Agreement,  herewith  reported  and  recommended,  approve  them 
selves  to  the  thoughtful  and  judicious  in  both  branches  of  the 
Church,  as  suited  to  promote,  not  the  advantage  of  any  school  or 
sect,  but  the  healthful  vigor  of  the  entire  Church,  the  prosperity  of 
the  whole  country,  the  honor  of  our  adorable  Lord. 

We  make   no  computation  of   majorities  and   minorities,  in  the 
United  Church,  as  related  to  past  distinctions.     We  recognize  no 


284  PEESBYTEKIAN   KEUNION. 

sucli  idea  as  one  body  absorbing  the  other ;  our  whole  action  is  based 
on  the  principle  of  two  bodies,  now  independent  and  equal,  becom 
ing  assimilated  and  fused  together  in  cordial  "  agreement  as  to  doc 
trine,  order,  and  policy,  on  the  basis  of  our  common  standards,  and 
the  prevalence  of  mutual  confidence  and  love."  In  such  a  sublime 
act,  something  must  be  trusted  to  the  power  of  Christian  sentiment ; 
something  left  to  be  accomplished  by  faith  in  one  another,  as  well  as 
in  our  common  Lord.  Signs  are  visible  in  every  quarter  of  increased 
confidence  among  Christian  churches  and  ministers,  long  separated 
by  ecclesiastical  differences,  now  yearning  for  more  of  unity.  As 
well  might  we  deny  the  return  of  spring  and  the  putting  forth  of 
buds  and  the  tender  grass,  as  question  this  obvious  fact.  Do  not 
events  indicate  a  Divine  Leadership  which  it  is  our  wisdom  to  ob 
serve  and  obey?  Results  have  already  been  reached,  under  Pente 
costal  effusions  of  the  Spirit  from  on  high,  surpassing  the  most  san 
guine  expectations,  rebuking  unbelief,  dissolving  prejudice,  and  be 
tokening  greater  things  to  come.  Some  things  must  be  referred  to 
the  past.  If  we  face  the  sun,  our  shadows  are  behind  us.  "  Let  the 
dead  bury  their  dead."  It  is  our  Lord  Himself  who  teaches  us, 
that  all  which  is  personal  and  private  should  be  held  subordinate 
to  the  claims  and  affinities  of  His  kingdom.  What  was  tolerated 
once  may  not  be  justified  now.  The  future  cheers  and  animates  us 
with  brightest  prospects.  The  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  rebukes  the 
weakness  and  wickedness  of  schism,  and  enjoins  the  unity  of  faith 
and  love.  Hope  anticipates  the  time  when,  every  dissension  healed 
and  forgotten  by  Christian  charity,  all  branches  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  all  sections  of  our  common  country,  holding  the  same 
Standards,  shall  be  drawn  together  by  patriotic  and  evangelical 
sympathies  in  cordial  and  indissoluble  union.  Glorious  things  are 
promised  to  the  Church,  "  in  the  day  that  the  Lord  bindeth  up  the 
breach  of  His  people  and  healeth  the  stroke  of  their  wound." 

Surely  it  will  be  for  good  and  not  evil,  for  joy  and  not  sorrow, 
for  strength  and  not  weakness,  if  henceforth  our  rule  shall  be  "  One 
body  and  one  spirit,  even  as  'we'  are  called  in  one  hope  of  '  our'  call 
ing.  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all, 
who  is  above  all  and  through  all  and  in  '  us '  all." 

"  Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above 
all  that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us, 


THE   KEUmOIS'.  285 


unto  Him  be  glory  in  the  Church  by  Christ  Jesus  throughout  all 
ages,  world  without  end.     Amen." 

Signed,  by  order  of  the  Committee. 

WILIAM  ADAMS,  Chairman,  JV.  S. 
CHAKLES  C.  BEATTY,  0.  S. 
May  20,  1868. 

The  whole  subject  was  now  before  both  Assemblies 
for  action  in  the  form  of  definite  terms  for  organic  Re 
union.  The  terms  met  with  no  little  opposition.  In  the 
Old  School,  the  opposition  wras  chiefly  against  the  ex 
planatory  clauses  of  the  doctrinal  article  ;  in  the  New, 
against  the  admission  of  the  tenth  article,  concerning 
the  right  of  examining  ministers  in  good  and  regular 
standing.  After  a  long  and  animated  debate,  the  whole 
plan,  as  reported  by  the  Committee,  was  adopted  by 
both  Assemblies,  by  a  very  large  majority,  and  accord 
ing  to  the  provisions  of  the  plan  itself  was  sent  down 
as  an  overture  to  the  Presbyteries  for  their  decision. 
In  the  Old  School  Assembly,  the  minority  disapproving 
of  the  plan,  entered  a  formal  protest.  This  was  an 
swered  by  Professor  Shedd,  Chairman  of  a  Committee 
appointed  for  the  purpose.  As  this  paper  was  ap 
proved  and  adopted  by  the  Assembly  itself,  thus  en 
dorsing  the  orthodoxy  of  the  New  School  Presbyterian 
Church,  it  is  too  important,  as  a  historic  document,  to 
be  omitted  from  this  record.  It  is  as  follows  : 


ANSWER  TO  THE  PROTEST. 

In  reply  to  the  Protest  against  its  action  on  the  Terms  of  Union, 
the  A  ssembly  observes  : 

The  authors  of  the  Protest  first  speak  of  a  series  of  doctrinal  er 
rors  and  heresies,  which  may  be  concisely  stated  as  follows:  (1.) 


286  PEESBYTEPJAK   EEUlSTIOlSr. 

There  is  no  moral  character  in  man  prior  to  moral  action,  and  there 
fore  man  was  not  created  holy.  (2.)  There  was  no  covenant  made 
with  Adam,  his  posterity  did  not  fall  with  him,  and  every  man  stands 
or  falls  for  himself.  (3.)  Original  sin  is  not  truly  and  properly  sin 
bringing  condemnation,  but  only  an  innocent  tendency  leading  to 
actual  transgression.  (4.)  Inability  of  any  and  every  kind  is  incon 
sistent  with  moral  obligation.  (5.)  Regeneration  is  the  sinner's  own 
act,  and  consists  in  the  change  of  his  governing  purpose.  (6.)  God 
cannot  control  the  acts  of  free  agents,  and  therefore  cannot  prevent 
sin  in  a  moral  system.  (7.)  Election  is  founded  upon  God's  fore 
knowledge  that  the  sinner  will  repent  and  believe.  (8.)  The  suf 
ferings  of  Christ  are  not  penal,  and  do  not  satisfy  retributive  justice. 
(9.)  Justification  is  pardon  merely,  and  does  not  include  restoration 
to  favor  and  acceptance  as  righteous. 

These  doctrinal  errors  the  authors  of  the  Protest  are  careful  to  say 
are  repudiated  by  the  great  mass  of  the  New  School  Church.  They 
say  that  "  they  are  far  from  believing  or  insinuating  that  these  doc 
trines  generally  approved  by  the  New  School  Church  "  —  that  they 
do  not  impute  these  errors  to  a  majority,  or  to  any  definite  propor 
tion  of  our  New  School  brethren." 

The  charge  that  is  made  in  this  Protest,  and  the  only  charge  made 
in  this  reference  is,  that  while  the  other  branch  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  repudiate  these  doctrines  for  themselves,  they  at  the  same 
time  hold  that  they  are  consistent  with  the  Calvinism  of  the  Confes 
sion  of  Faith.  The  authors  of  the  Protest  allege  that  it  is  the  judg 
ment  of  the  New  School  body  that  a  person  can  logically  and  consist 
ently  accept  the  Westminster  symbol,  and  these  nine  or  ten  Pelagian 
and  Arminian  tenets,  at  one  and  the  same  time.  This  is  the  sub 
stance  of  their  charge. 

The  Assembly  pronounces  this  allegation  to  be  without  foundation, 
because  : 

1.  Such  a  position,  if  taken  by  the  New  School  Church,  or  by  any 
church  whatsoever,  would  simply  be  self-stultifying  and  absurd.  That 
a  great  religious  denomination,  which  from  the  beginning  of  its  or 
ganization  in  1837,  down  to  the  present  time,  has  held  up  the  West 
minster  Confession  as  its  symbol,  has  compelled  every  one  of  its 
ministers  and  elders  to  subscribe  to  that  symbol,  and  has  received  its 
membership  into  church  communion  upon  professing  faith  in  the  doc- 


THE  EEmsnoN".  287 


trines  of  that  symbol  ;  that  an  ecclesiastical  body  which  has  thus 
stood  before  the  other  churches  of  this  and  other  lands,  as  a  Calvin- 
istic  body,  and  has  been  reckoned  and  recognized  as  such,  should  at 
the  same  time  be  jealous  in  behalf  of  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of 
Pelagianism  and  Arminianism,  and  insist  that  these  latter  are  consist 
ent  with  the  former,  and  are  to  be  tolerated  in  a  Calvinistic  body,  is 
too  much  for  human  belief.  The  entire  history  of  the  Church  does 
not  present  such  a  phenomenon  as  that  of  a  denomination  adopting, 
before  the  world,  a  definite  type  of  doctrine,  and  at  the  same  time 
claiming  that  exactly  the  contrary  type  of  doctrine  is  compatible  with 
it,  and  must  be  tolerated  within  its  communion.  If  the  New  School 
Church  are  really  doing  what  the  signers  of  this  Protest  allege  they 
are,  then  their  position  before  the  churches  and  the  world  would  be 
as  absurd  as  would  have  been  the  position  of  the  Nicene  Church,  if, 
at  the  very  time  that  ifc  adopted  and  defended  the  Trinitarianism  of 
Athanasius,  it  had  insisted  that  the  tenets  of  Arius  or  those  of  the 
Humanitarians  were  consistent  with  those  of  the  great  father  of  or 
thodoxy,  and  must  be  allowed  in  the  Catholic  Church.  The  human 
mind,  even  in  its  natural  condition,  never  did  work  in  this  manner, 
and  never  will;  and  still  less  will  the  human  mind,  when  renewed 
and  sanctified  by  divine  grace,  be  guilty  of  such  a  palpable  incon 
sistency. 

2.  These  very  errors,  charged  by  the  signers  of  the  Protest  as  al 
lowed  by  the  New  School  Presbyterians,  have  already  been  distinctly 
repudiated  by  them.  The  Auburn  Convention,  held  in  1837,  under 
the  influence  and  doctrinal  guidance  of  that  excellent  and  sound  di 
vine,  the  late  Dr.  Richards,  specified  sixteen  doctrinal  errors,  which 
contain  the  very  same  latitudinarian  and  heretical  tenets  mentioned 
in  the  Protest,  rejected  them  in  in  toto,  and  set  over  against  them 
sixteen  "  true  doctrines,"  which  embrace  all  the  fundamentals  of  the 
Calvinistic  creed.  This  Assembly  regards  the  "  Auburn  declaration  " 
as  an  authoritative  statement  of  the  New  School  type  of  Calvinism, 
and  as  indicating  how  far  they  desire  to  go,  and  how  much  liberty 
they  wish  in  regard  to  what  the  terms  of  union  call  "  the  various 
modes  of  explaining,  illustrating,  and  stating"  the  Calvinistic  faith. 
"We  believe  that  a  large  number  of  our  New  School  brethren  would 
prefer  the  modes  of  "  explaining  and  illustrating  "  the  tenets  of  Cal 
vinism  which  are  employed  by  the  authors  of  this  Protest  themselves, 


288  PRESBYTERIAN 


and  the  other  portion  of  the  body  claim  only  that  degree  of  varia 
tion  from  these  modes,  which  would  be  represented  by  the  theology 
of  Richards  and  the  Auburn  Declaration. 

3.  The  Assembly  is  fully  satisfied  that  any  instances  of  laxity  of 
doctrine  among  the  New  School  which  have  been  exhibited,  are  ex 
ceptional  cases,  and  that  the  great  body  of  the  other  Church  sincere 
ly  and  firmly  stand  upon  the  basis  of  our  common  standards.     The 
many  disclaimers  of  the  unsound  views  charged,  and  declarations 
that  the  standards  are  received  as  by  us,  which  have  been  made  by 
distinguished  and  representative  men,  and  in  the  periodicals  of  the 
New   School  Church,  leave  no  room  to   doubt  that  the  interests  of 
sound  doctrine  will  be  safe  in  the  united  Church. 

4.  That  the  allegation  of  this  Protest  is  unfounded  is  proven  by 
the  fact  that  the  New  School  Church  have  adopted,  by  a  unanimous 
vote,  the  Basis  of  Doctrine  presented  by  the  Joint  Committee.     What 
ever  may  be  the  preferences  and  opinions  of  individuals  respecting 
particular  clauses  in  the  first  article  in  this  basis,  this  General  As 
sembly  holds  and  affirms  that  it  not  only  commits,  but  binds  any 
ecclesiastical  body  that  should  receive  it  to  pure  and  genuine  Calvin 
ism.     It  will  be  so  understood  by  all  the  world.     For  it  expressly 
lays  down  the  Westminster  symbol  as  the  doctrinal  platform,  and 
expressly  requires  that  no  doctrine  shall  be  taught  that  is  not  Calvin- 
istic  in  the  old,  ancestral,  "  historical  "  meaning  of  this  term,  or  that 
"  impairs  the  integrity  "  of  the  Calvinistic  system.     We  affirm  that 
there  is  not  a  man  upon  the  globe,  possessed  of  a  sane  mind,  and  ac 
quainted  with  the  subject  of  doctrine,  who  would  assert  that  the  list 
of  errors  and  heresies  mentioned  by  the  signers  of  this  Protest  is 
"  Calvinistic  "  in  the  accepted  and  historical  signification  of  the  term, 
or  that  their  reception  would  not  impair  the  integrity  of  the  Calvin 
istic  system. 

And  it  must  be  distinctly  observed,  that  if  any  doctrines  had  been 
hitherto  allowed  by  the  New  School  body  which  "  impair  the  integrity 
of  the  Calvinistic  system,"  they  are  not  to  be  allowed  in  the  united 
Church  under  the  terms  of  union.  Such  doctrines  are  condemned,  and 
any  one  who  may  teach  them  will  be  subject  to  discipline.  It  is  the 
testimony  of  some  of  the  protesters  themselves  that  the  great  body 
of  the  New  School  are  sound  in  doctrine  ;  our  own  body  being  the 
large  majority  in  the  union,  when  fortified  by  the  accession  of  the 


THE    REUNION.  289 

great  body  of  sound  men  in  the  other,  will  establish  and  confirm  the 
testimony  of  the  Church  to  the  truth;  will  preserve  it,  by  God's 
help,  from  error,  and  maintain  intact,  while  it  extends,  the  purifying 
and  saving  power  of  our  venerated  Confession. 

5.  The  errors  and  heresies  alleged  in  the  Protest  are  combated  and 
refuted  in  the  Theological  Seminaries  of  the  New  School. 

Such  Seminaries  in  any  denomination  are  important  exponents  of 
its  doctrinal  position  and  character.  The  Assembly  knows  that  in 
the  three  Seminaries  of  our  New  School  brethren,  Westminster  Cal 
vinism  is  fully  and  firmly  taught.  The  Professors  in  these  are  obliged 
to  subscribe  to  the  Westminster  Confession,  and  heretical  teaching 
throws  the  Professor  out  of  his  chair  by  the  very  constitution  of 
these  Seminaries.  The  Assembly  notices  this  point,  particularly,  be 
cause  the  authors  of  the  Protest  assert  that  the  doctrinal  errors  speci 
fied  by  them  "  have  been  taught  in  some  of  the  Theological  Semina 
ries  of  our  land."  This  is  not  the  proper  manner  in  which  to  affix 
so  grave  and  damaging  a  stigma  upon  our  New  School  Presbyterian 
brethren.  The  authors  of  this  Protest  ought  to  have  made  this  alle 
gation,  not  in  the  way  of  insinuation,  but  by  distinct  assertion  and 
proof.  Many  things  are  "  taught  in  the  Theological  Seminaries  of 
our  land"  which  are  not  taught  in  the  Presbyterian  Seminaries  of 
the  land,  either  New  School  or  Old. 

6.  The  Protest  alleges  it  to  be  a  "  notorious  fact "  that  the  New 
School  Church  insists  that  the  heresies  mentioned  are  compatible 
with  Calvinism.     If  the  alleged  fact  had  been  so  "  notorious  "  as  the 
Protest  affirms,  it  would  certainly  have  been  known  to  this  Assem 
bly,  and  would  have  made  it  simply  impossible  to  have  secured  for 
the  Basis  of  the  Joint  Committee,  or  for  any  other  conceivable  basis, 
any  favorable   consideration.     The  idea  of  reunion  would  not  have 
been  entertained  for  a  moment. 

Furthermore,  this  Assembly  emphatically  holds  up  to  the  Church 
and  to  the  world,  that  it  receives  into  its  ministry  and  membership 
those  who  adopt  "  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  our  Confession," 
and  that  it  never  has  held,  and  does  not  now  hold,  that  its  ministers 
or  members  shall  "  view,  state,  or  explain  "  that  system  in  any  other 
than  the  words  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  our  standards ;  and  to 
show  that  this  is  the  sentiment  not  only  of  the  Assembly,  but  of  the 
protesters  themselves  also,  the  Assembly  here  cites  the  testimony  of 
19 


290  PEESBTTEEIAN 


one  of  the  signers  of  the  Protest,  whose  words  have  been  referred  to 
in  the  discussions  just  closed.  Says  Dr.  Hodge  : 

"  If  a  man  comes  to  us,  and  he  adopts  '  the  system  of  doctrine  ' 
taught  in  our  Confession,  we  have  a  right  to  ask  him,  '  Do  you  be 
lieve  there  are  three  persons  in  the  Godhead  —  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  —  and  that  these  three  are  one  God,  the  same  in 
substance,  equal  in  power  and  glory  ?  If  he  says,  Yes,  we  are  satis 
fied.  We  do  not  call  upon  him  to  explain  how  three  persons  are  one 
God,  or  to  determine  what  relations  in  the  awful  mysteries  of  the 
Godhead  are  indicated  by  the  terms  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 
If  we  ask,  Do  you  believe  that  '  God  created  man  male  and  female, 
after  his  own  image,  in  knowledge,  righteousness,  and  holiness,  with 
dominion  over  the  creatures  "  ?  and  he  answers,  Yes,  we  are  satisfied. 
If  he  says  he  believes  that  '  the  covenant  being  made  with  Adam, 
not  only  for  himself,  but  for  his  posterity,  all  mankind  descending 
from  him  by  ordinary  generation,  sinned  in  him,  and  fell  with  him, 
in  his  first  transgression,'  we  are  satisfied.  If  he  says  that  he  be 
lieves  that  '  the  sinfulness  of  that  estate  whereinto  man  fell  consists 
in  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin,  the  want  of  original  righteousness, 
and  the  corruption  of  his  whole  nature,  which  is  commonly  called 
original  sin,  together  with  all  actual  trangressions  which  proceed  from 
it,'  we  are  satis/led.  If  he  says,  '  Chiist  executes  the  office  of  a 
priest  in  his  once  offering  himself  a  sacrifice  to  satisfy  Divine  justice 
and  reconcile  us  to  God,  and  in  making  continual  intercession  for  us,' 
we  are  satisfied.  If  he  says  he  believes  justification  to  be  '  an  act  of 
God's  free  grace,  wherein  he  pardoneth  all  our  sins,  and  accepteth  us 
as  righteous  in  his  sight,  only  for  the  righteousness  of  Christ  imputed 
to  us,  and  received  by  faith  alone,'  we  are  satisfied.  Is  not  this  what 
is  meant  when  a  man  says  he  adopts  our  '  system  of  doctrine  '  ?  Is 
not  this  —  nothing  more  and  nothing  less  —  that  which  we  are  au 
thorized  and  bound  to  require  ?  God  grant  that  we  may  unite  on 
terms  so  simple,  so  reasonable,  and,  I  must  hope,  so  satisfactory  to 
every  sincere,  humble,  Christian  brother."  —  (Remarks  of  the  Rev. 
Charles  Hodge,  D.D.,  in  the  Philadelphia  Convention.") 

The  Assembly  cannot  enlarge  the  basis  beyond  the  platform  of 
God's  truth  as  stated  in  our  standards,  and  it  would  not  narrow  the 
basis  by  taking  one  tittle  from  the  form  of  sound  words  therein  con 
tained.  We  declare  our  willingness  to  unite  with  all  those  who  pro- 


tJNITEBSIT 


THE    REUlSnOET.  291 


fess  their  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  their  adoption  of  "  the 
Confession  of  Faith  and  Form  of  Government  "  of  our  beloved 
Church. 

The  protesters  object  to  the  eighth  item  of  the  Basis,  because  it 
makes  the  united  Church  responsible  for  the  publications  of  the  New 
School  Committee.  This  is  a  misapprehension.  The  publications  of 
the  New  School  Committee  and  our  Board  are  to  be  issued  as  now, 
with  the  imprint  of  each,  until  the  new  Board  shall  prepare  a  new 
catalogue,  for  which  alone  the  united  Church  will  be  responsible. 

Again,  the  protesters  object  to  the  fourth  article  as  unsettling  past 
acts  of  our  Church.  This  is  a  matter  of  necessity  where  the  action 
of  the  two  bodies  differs.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  except  in  the 
case  of  the  imperative  clause  of  the  examination  rule  of  1837,  no 
important  difference  can  be  found.  If  it  is  otherwise,  the  united 
Church  is  the  proper  body  to  establish  its  own  usages.  We  do  not 
believe  that  our  brethren  of  the  New  School  Church  have  now  any 
sympathy  with  Congregational  views  of  government,  or  any  objec 
tion  to  usages  that  are  strictly  Presbyterian. 

The  various  amendments  proposed  by  the  protesters  were  laid  on 
the  table,  not  because  they  were  contrary  to  the  sentiment  of  the 
Assembly,  but  because,  under  the  circumstances,  it  was  not  possible 
to  engraft  them  upon  the  terms  of  the  union,  and,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  Assembly,  were  not  essential  to  the  integrity  of  the  Calvinis- 
tic  basis  on  which  the  union  is  to  be  effected. 

WM.  G.  T.  SHEDD, 

J.  G.  MONFORT, 

S.  IREX^EUS  PRIME, 
H.  H.  LEAVITT, 
ROBERT  McKxiGHT, 

Committee. 

In  the  New  School  Assembly  at  Harrisburg,  the  min 
ority,  after  having  expressed  their  dissent  and  their  ap 
prehensions  in  regard  to  the  tenth  article,  with  few 
exceptions,  waived  their  objections  in  the  final  vote 
upon  the  whole  plan,  and  acquiesced  in  the  judgment  of 
the  majority. 


292  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

As  the  Session  of  the  Old  School  Assembly  at  Albany 
was  drawing  to  a  close,  action  was  taken  which  it  is 
important  to  understand  correctly,  because  of  its  bear 
ing  on  all  subsequent  proceedings.  In  hope  of  concili 
ating  the  minority,  who  had  professed  honest  misgiv 
ings  as  to  the  effect  of  the  explanatory  clauses  of  the 
doctrinal  article,  that  Assembly  adopted  the  following 
resolution : 

While  the  Assembly  has  approved  the  Report  of  the  Joint  Com 
mittee  on  Reunion,  it  expresses  its  preference  for  a  change  in  the 
first  item  in  the  basis,  leaving  out  the  following  words,  viz. :  "  It 
being  understood  that  the  Confession  is  received  in  its  historical  — 
that  is,  the  Calvinistic  or  Reformed  sense,  —  it  is  also  understood 
that  various  methods  of  viewing,  stating,  explaining,  and  illustrating 
the  doctrines  of  the  Confession,  which  do  not  impair  the  integrity  of  the 
Reformed  or  Calvinistic  system,  are  to  be  freely  allowed  in  the  united 
Church,  as  they  have  hitherto  been  allowed  in  the  separate  churches." 
The  Assembly  believes  that  by  omitting  these  clauses  the  basis  will 
be  more  simple  and  more  expressive  of  mutual  confidence ;  and  the 
Permanent  Clerk  is  directed  to  telegraph  this  proposed  amendment 
to  the  Assembly  at  Harrisburg,  and  if  that  Assembly  shall  concur  in 
the  amendment,  it  shall  become  of  effect  as  the  action  of  this  Assembly 
also.  The  Assembly  also  appoints  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Beatty,  D.D.,  the 
Rev.  V.  D.  Reed,  D.D.,  and  ruling  elders  Robert  Carter  and  Henry 
Day,  a  Committee  to  proceed  to  Harrisburg  and  personally  to  lay  this 
action  before  the  other  Assembly. 

This  Committee   immediately  put  in  execution  the 
trust  assio-ned  to  them  ;  and  on  their  arrival  at  Harris- 

o  / 

burg,  were  very  cordially  received,  and  by  their  pres 
ence  and  warm  expressions  of  fraternal  love,  did  much 
to  advance  the  interest  of  Reunion.  But  the  Assembly 
at  Harrisburg  was  now  very  near  its  close.  Many  of 
its  members  had  already  obtained  leave  of  absence, 


THE    REUNION.  293 

and  on  investigation  it  was  found  that  there  was  no  lon 
ger  the  requisite  constitutional  quorum  for  reconsider 
ing  the  action  which  had  been  taken.  A  free  confer 
ence  on  the  subject,  however,  seemed  to  warrant  the 
belief  that  the  Assembly  would  have  been  willing  to 
concur  in  the  proposal,  if  their  brethren  of  the  other 
Assembly  would  add  the  tenth  article  to  the  portions  to 
be  omitted.  The  Committee  returned  to  Albany  and 
reported  the  result  of  their  mission,  and  there  the  mat 
ter  was  left  when  the  Assemblies  severally  adjourned. 

The  plan  recommended  by  the  Joint  Committee  and 
adopted  by  both  Assemblies  was  now  the  overture,  and 
the  only  one  regularly  before  the  presbyteries.  If, 
however,  having  acted  upon  that,  any  of  them  had 
chosen  to  express  their  approval  of  the  proposed  amend 
ments,  subject  to  the  concurrence  of  the  two  Assem 
blies,  no  embarrassment  would  have  arisen.  But,  un 
fortunately  for  the  immediate  success  of  the  effort  for 
Reunion,  other  councils  prevailed.  The  presbyteries  of 
the  New  School  acted  upon  the  regular  overture,  and 
approved  it  by  a  very  large  majority;  but  the  presby 
teries  of  the  Old  School  voted,  some  for  the  overture, 
some  for  the  amended  plan  proposed  but  not  adopted 
by  their  Assembly ;  and  still  others  ignored  both  for 
the  basis  of  "  the  standards  pure  and  simple ;  "  and  by 
far  the  largest  number  effectively  rejected  the  only 
measure  legally  before  them.  In  this  state  of  affairs, 
seeing  that  that  measure  was  defeated,  not  intentionally 
on  the  part  of  most  of  the  presbyteries,  but  by  con 
fusion  of  action,  the  Reunion  Committee,  on  the  part 
of  the  New  School,  which  had  been  continued  by  that 
Assembly,  while  that  of  the  other  Assembly  had  been 


294  PEESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

dissolved,  hoping  still  to  bring  about  an  agreement, 
and  deeming  it  within  the  limits  of  their  authority  to 
attempt  to  do  so,  met  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in 
the  month  of  January,  1869,  and  adopted  the  following 
paper :  - 

ADDRESS    OF     THE    REUNION     COMMITTEE     TO    THE 
PRESBYTERIES. 

In  pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly,  at  its  meet 
ing  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  May,  1868,  continuing  the  Committee  on  Re 
union  for  the  purpose  of  "  furnishing  such  information  as  they  may 
deem  best  to  the  churches,  in  order  to  secure  intelligent  action  on  the 
subject  of  reunion,"  the  said  Committee  met  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  on  the  20th  day  of  January,  1869. 

It  appeared  from  the  best  evidence  that  could  be  obtained,  that 
while  a  large  proportion  of  the  New  School  presbyteries,  acting  on 
the  overture  sent  down  by  both  General  Assemblies,  had  given  their 
approval  of  the  same,  most  of  the  Old  School  presbyteries  had  given 
their  approval  only  to  an  amended  basis,  for  which  their  Assembly 
had  expressed  a  preference,  in  case  the  Assembly  at  Harrisburg 
should  concur  ;  that  is,  to  the  basis  of  the  overture  with  the  omission 
in  the  first  article  of  the  following  words :  "  It  being  understood, 
etc.,  or,  as  some  of  them  have  expressed  their  action,  the  basis  of 
the  Standards  pure  and  simple." 

It  thus  appeared  that,  while  on  both  sides  there  has  been  a  very 
general  approval  of  Reunion  itself,  a  difference  of  action  has  prevailed 
which,  as  the  case  now  stands,  is  likely  to  defeat  what  we  believe  is 
the  earnest  purpose  of  a  very  large  majority  of  the  members  of  both 
branches  of  our  Church,  to  wit,  the  accomplishment  of  Reunion  at 
the  meeting  of  the  next  General  Assemblies. 

That  the  other  Assembly  did  not  intend  to  make  any  alteration  in 
the  principles  of  the  plan  submitted  by  the  Joint  Committee,  is 
clear  from  the  fact  that,  having  adopted  that  plan  by  a  large  majority, 
the  amendment  was  proposed  only  as  a  matter  of  "  preference," 
subject  to  the  concurrence  of  our  General  Assembly  ;  and  the  reason 
given  for  the  preference  is,  that,  so  amended,  "  the  basis  would  be 
more  simple  and  more  expressive  of  mutual  confidence."  It  appears  from 


THE   EEUJSTION.  295 

the  statement  of  the  Committee  sent  by  the  Assembly  at  Albany  to 
report  their  action  to  the  Assembly  at  Harrisburg,  that  they  were 
influenced  in  part  also  by  the  hope  of  reconciling  opposing  elements 
in  their  own  body,  and  so  securing  in  favor  of  Reunion  greater  unani 
mity. 

Believing  that  the  Presbyteries  connected  with  us,  and  our  branch 
of  the  Church  generally,  are  disposed  to  make  any  concessions  to 
their  brethren  of  the  other  body  not  inconsistent  with  principle,  and 
that  express  guarantees,  both  in  regard  to  doctrine  and  polity,  may  be 
safely  dispensed  with,  now  that  free  discussion  of  the  subject  has 
brought  about  so  good  an  understanding,  this  Committee  deem  it 
their  duty,  in  accordance  with  the  purpose  of  their  continuance,  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  presbyteries  to  the  present  posture  of  the 
case ;  and,  without  assuming  any  authority,  would  reccomend  that, 
at  a  regular  meeting  preceding  the  next  General  Assembly,  they  ex 
press  their  assent  to  the  amendment  referred  to,  with  the  additional 
one  (which  to  us  appears  to  carry  with  it  all  the  reasons  that  apply 
to  the  other,  and  is  regarded  by  some  as  quite  necessary  in  case  the 
other  is  adopted),  viz.,  the  omission  of  the  whole  of  the  Tenth 
Article.  We  cannot  but  trust  that  our  Old  School  brethren  will  con 
cede  this  additional  omission,  since  it  is  but  the  application  of  the 
same  principle  to  the  polity  of  the  Church  which  they  have  applied 
to  its  doctrine  ;  and  while  it  will  serve  to  harmonize  differing  prefer 
ences  among  us,  as  theirs  does  among  them,  will  be  equally,  with 
theirs,  expressive  of  the  same  "  mutual  confidence." 

Should  the  requisite  number  of  Presbyteries  in  both  the  bodies 
agree  to  both  these  modifications,  the  two  Assemblies  may  find  them 
selves  in  a  position  to  consummate  the  Reunion  at  the  approaching 
meeting,  and  thus  avoid  the  delay  of  another  year,  which  is  much  to 
be  deprecated,  in  order  to  frame  and  send  down  a  new  overture.  It 
must,  however,  be  well  understood,  that,  by  agreeing  to  the  omissions 
in  question,  the  Presbyteries  do  not  relinquish  nor  deny  the  right  to 
all  reasonable  liberty  in  the  statement  of  views,  and  the  interpretations 
of  the  Standards,  as  generally  expressed  in  the  First  Article  as  it  now 
stands ;  and  also  that  the  interpretation  of  their  own  language  by 
the  Joint  Committee  in  the  preamble  and  conclusion  of  their  report, 
May,  1868,  is  to  be  accepted  as  the  true  interpretation. 

With  these  views,  and  in  order  to  prepare  the  way  for  definite  and 


296  PEESBYTEKIAN   KEUJSTON. 

uniform  action  on  the  part  of  the  Presbyteries,  the  Committee  beg 
leave  to  submit  the  following  form,  not  to  supersede  but  to  follow 
their  previous  action,  in  case  they  have  already  approved  of  the  terms 
of  the  overture :  — 

"  This  Presbytery,  having  already  approved  of  the  basis  of  Reunion 
overtured  by  the  last  General  Assembly,  do  now,  in  order  to  a  final 
and  harmonious  adj  ustment  of  the  whole  case,  consent  to  the  amend 
ing  of  the  Basis,  by  the  omission, 

"  First,  Of  that  part  of  the  First  article  of  the  Basis  that  begins 
with  the  words  '  It  being  understood,'  &c.,  and  ends  with  the  words 
'  In  the  separate  chnrches.'  And, 

"  Second,  Of  the  whole  of  the  Tenth  Article  of  the  basis. 

"  WM.  ADAMS,  Chairman." 

This  address  was  sent  to  all  the  presbyteries  in  connec 
tion  with  the  New  School  branch  of  the  church,  and 
published  in  the  religious  papers,  for  the  information  of 
all  parties  concerned.  Unfortunately,  again,  no  sooner 
had  the  adoption  of  the  address  been  made  known 
through  the  press,  than  the  Central  Presbytery  of  Phil 
adelphia,  with  the  best  of  intentions,  we  are  bound  to 
believe,  but  without  the  slightest  consultation  with  the 
Committee  or  any  of  the  members  of  the  New  School, 
adopted  and  issued  a  circular  to  the  presbyteries  of  the 
Old  School,  advising  them  to  abandon  the  whole  plan 
overtured  by  the  Assemblies,  and  vote  for  the  union  on 
the  basis  of  the  Standards,  without  explanations  or 
agreements,  leaving  all  the  delicate  questions  on  which 
the  Reunion  Committee  had  labored  for  nearly  three 
years  to  be  settled  as  best  they  might,  after  the  union 
should  be  consummated.  The  result  was  as  might  nat 
urally  have  been  expected.  While  the  presbyteries  on 
the  one  side  voted  for  the  Committee's  measure  of 
attempted  concilation,  those  on  the  other  were  as  much 


THE   KELTSnON.  297 


confused  in  their  action  as  before  ;  and  again  there  was 
no  agreement. 

O 

It  was  in  this  posture  of  affairs  that  the  two  Assem 
blies  met  in  the  city  of  New  York,  May  17,  1869.  It 
can  hardly  be  thought  strange  that  in  the  New  School 
portion  of  the  church  a  considerable  degree  of  coldness 
had  begun  to  manifest  itself.  Not  a  few  of  them  be 
gan  to  feel  that  they  had  been  trifled  with.  With  the 
utmost  confidence  in  the  good-will  and  sincerity  of 
the  friends  of  Reunion  in  the  other  church,  they 
could  not  see  why  they  should  still  pursue  their  efforts 
to  conciliate  a  small  minority  in  their  own  body,  who 
had  been  opposed  to  Reunion  from  the  beginning,  to  the 
extent  of  ignoring  the  opinions  and  policy  of  its  friends 
in  the  New  School  body,  who  had  battled  with  them 
side  by  side  for  many  years,  and  of  neglecting  to  take 
them  into  their  counsels.  This  was  the  case  especially 
with  some  of  the  laymen.  Two  eminent  jurists,  mem 
bers  of  the  Assembly,  expressed  as  much  during  the 
course  of  its  meetings.  One  of  them,  who  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Reunion  Committee  from  the  first,  and 
had  declared  himself  warmly  for  Reunion  as  early  as 
1864  at  the  Assembly  of  the  Old  School  at  Newark, 
declined  for  the  first  time  to  concur  with  the  New 
School  Committee  when  they  put  forth  the  January 
letter,  thinking  it  unwise  and  beneath  their  dignity  to 
make  any  further  attempts  in  such  circumstances. 

It  was  well  known  before  the  meeting  of  the  Assem 
blies  that  the  plan  of  Reunion  overtured  the  preceding 
year,  owing  to  the  confused  and  diverse  manner  in 
which  the  vote  had  been  taken,  had  failed  of  the  re 
quisite  endorsement  by  the  Presbyteries.  This  tended 


298  PRESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

somewhat  to  dispirit  the  friends  of  Reunion,  especially 
in  the  New  School  Branch.  They  approached  the 
Assembly,  so  far  as  is  known,  with  no  definite  plan. 
It  was  expected,  if  anything  was  done  toward  Reunion, 
that  it  must  be  with  considerable  delay,  and  by  the  in 
ception  of  some  new  method,  they  knew  not  what,  to 
be  inaugurated  by  the  other  branch.  But  it  was  soon 
evident  that  the  desire  and  purpose  for  Reunion  were 
deepened  and  not  diluted  by  delay.  A  meeting  for 
prayer  had  been  appointed  in  the  Brick  Church  the 
evening  previous  to  the  opening  of  the  Assemblies.  It 
was  instantly  apparent  that  all  hearts  converged  towards 
the  same  object,  and  some  of  those  who  had  for  various 
reasons  been  supposed  to  be  indisposed  to  Reunion,  now 
appeared  to  be  the  foremost  in  its  advocacy. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  session,  a  motion  was  made 
in  the  Old  School  Assembly  for  a  Committee  of  Con 
ference  to  meet  a  similar  Committee  from  the  New 
School  Assembly,  to  consider  what  further  action 
should  be  taken  on  the  subject  of  reuniting  the  two 
bodies.  A  similar  Committee  was  appointed  by  the 
New  School  Assembly,  upon  information  of  what  had 
been  done  by  the  other  body.  These  committees  con 
sisted  of  five  ministers  and  five  elders  from  each 
Assembly.  On  the  part  of  the  Old  School,  the  Com 
mittee  was  composed  entirely  of  new  men.  Not  one 
who  had  served  upon  the  previous  committee  was 
reappointed.  It  is  not  known  that  any  of  these  had 
been  returned  to  the  Assembly.  On  the  part  of  the 
New  School,  one  half  had  been  members  of  the  original 
Committee,  appointed  three  years  before.  This  con 
stitution  of  the  Joint  Committee  proved  to  be  favor- 


THE    EEUXION.  299 

able  to  success.  It  had  been  suggested  more  than 
once,  in  several  quarters,  that  in  previous  conferences 
the  Old  School  Committee  had  not  been  sufficiently 
firm  and  sagacious  in  the  maintenance  of  their  own 
ground.  Those  who  were  associated  with  them  had 
no  occasion  to  doubt  for  an  instant  their  true  and 
decided  fidelity  to  the  interests  which  they  represented, 
or  to  question  the  singular  ability  with  which  they 
discharged  their  trust.  But  for  the  wisdom,  patience, 
and  excellent  Christian  bearing  of  the  first  Committee, 
upon  whom  it  devolved  to  initiate  the  work  of  Reunion 
in  its  least  promising  and  most  difficult  aspects,  the  task 
of  their  successors  would  have  been  a  thousand-fold 
more  onerous.  It  will  always  be  a  very  strong  testi 
mony  to  the  wisdom  and  fidelity  and  discernment  of 
those  to  whom  reference  is  now  made,  —  the  members 
of  the  Joint  Committee  from  the  Old  School,  —  that, 
in  the  final  review  by  new  men,  in  their  place,  every 
one  of  the  provisions  to  which  they  had  agreed,  even 
those  which  had  been  most  severely  criticized,  are 
retained  unaltered  in  substance. 

The  Committees  now  appointed  addressed  them 
selves  immediately  to  the  work  assigned  them  with 
intense  earnestness.  Meantime  the  members  of  the 
two  Assemblies  were  thrown  into  intimate  intercourse. 
On  Monday  evening  a  social  entertainment  was  given 
in  Apollo  Hall  by  the  citizens  of  Kew  York,  in 
which  there  was  the  freest  interchange  of  friendly 
sentiments..  Nearly  every  day  the  two  Assemblies 
met  together  for  social  worship.  By  the  guidance 
of  God's  Providence  and  Spirit,  the  tide  of  feeling  in 
expectancy  of  reunion  was  visibly  and  constantly 


300  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

rising.  Monday  morning,  a  delegation  from  the  Old 
School  Assembly,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Beattie 
and  Musgrave,  and  Hon.  Robert  McKnight,  appointed 
under  the  old  rule  of  interchange,  addressed  the  New 
School  Assembly ;  and  their  fervid  eloquence  kindled  a 
new  enthusiasm  for  Reunion.  Two  days  after,  the  Del 
egates  from  the  New  School,  —  Dr.  Adams  and  Hon. 
Wm.  E.  Dodge,  —  were  received  by  the  Old  School 
Assembly  with  every  expression  of  kindness  and  re 
spect.  The  address  delivered  on  that  occasion  by  the 
former  is  here  inserted,  inasmuch  as  it  represents  the 
attitude  of  affairs  upon  one  side  at  that  critical  time : 

ADDRESS   OF   REV.  DR.  ADAMS,  BEFORE   THE   OLD 
SCHOOL   ASSEMBLY. 

MR.  MODERATOR,  —  Lest  it  might  be  supposed  by  any  that  my 
colleague  and  myself  are  the  bearers  of  some  special  overture  from  the 
Assembly  which  we  represent,  it  will  not  be  impertinent  to  premise 
that  the  appointment  under  which  we  serve  was  made  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  last  year.  It  is,  on  our  part,  a  continuance  of  that 
interchange  of  fraternal  courtesies  which  was  inaugurated  several 
years  ago,  but  which  is  now  drawing  to  a  close ;  for  I  am  awed  by 
the  thought  that  this  is  undoubtedly  the  last  delegation  from  our 
Assembly  to  yours,  as  interchange  is  now  to  give  place  to  inter- 
blending.  We  remember  with  delight  the  visit  of  your  delegation 
to  our  Assembly  last  year  at  Harrisburg;  their  kinds  words,  their 
genial  spirit,  their  noble  bearing ;  while  our  hearts  are  still  glowing 
with  the  fervent  eloquence  of  your  commissioners,  when  addressing 
us  two  days  ago ;  for  all  which  we  thank  both  you  and  them. 

Though  my  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  exceeded 
thirty  years,  this  is  the  first  time  that  I  even  so  much  as  looked 
upon  the  General  Assembly  of  your  branch  of  the  Church.  With 
particular  men  among  you,  I  have  formed  intimate,  and  I  trust  im 
mortal  friendships.  Many  of  your  names  —  pardon  me,  Mr.  Mod 
erator,  for  mentioning  your  own  among  them  —  belong  to  the  com 
mon  scholarship  of  the  country ;  while  I  can  truly  say  of  the  men 


THE   KEUNIOET.  301 

with  whom  I  have  been  associated  in  the  negotiations  of  the  last 
three  years,  that  to  me  their  faces  will  ever  shine  as  did  that  of 
Moses,  though  it  may  be  added  that,  in  their  Christian  modesty, 
"  they  wist  it  not  themselves." 

To  give  first  impressions,  it  strikes  me  that  I  am  not  among 
"  strangers  and  foreigners ; "  that  you  have  the  true,  indescribable 
but  unmistakable  Presbyterian  look,  —  gravity  without  austerity,  dig 
nity  without  dulness  ;  or,  if  I  may  accomodate  the  descriptive  words 
of  Sir  John  Denham,  written  two  hundred  years  ago,  — 

"  Though  deep,  yet  clear;  though  gentle,  yet  not  dull; 
Strong,  without  rage  ;  without  overflowing,  full." 

It  will  be  remembered  by  some  present,  that  shortly  after  the 
division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  into  two  bands,  our  own  branch, 
not  having  the  most  delightful  associations  with  the  General  Assem 
bly  as  then  administered,  and  wishing  to  put  into  form  that  idea  of 
its  functions  which  had  been  propounded  by  many  of  the  fathers  of 
the  Church,  that  it  should  be  more  of  a  bond  of  union  among 
Synods  as  local  Assemblies,  and  less  of  a  supreme,  long-armed,  legis 
lative  power,  inaugurated  —  wisely  or  unwisely  —  the  system  of  Tri 
ennial  Assemblies,  and,  for  the  conduct  of  any  business  which  might 
require  action  in  the  interval,  a  committee  was  appointed  called  the 
" Committee  ad  Interim"  Though  a  young  man  at  the  time,  I  had 
the  honor  to  be  a  member  of  that  Committee.  It  may  also  be  re 
membered  by  some  present  that,  in  subsequent  Assemblies  of  your 
own,  it  was  quite  common  facetiously  to  refer  to  this  Committee  of 
ours  as  "the  COMMITTEE  AD  INTERMENT;"  a  pleasant  and  witty 
mode  of  expressing  the  conviction  that  we  were  dead.  Ours  was 
not  the  first  instance  in  which  premature  burial  has  been  arrested. 
I  am  reminded  of  that  immortal  passage  in  English  literature,  famil 
iar  to  all  nurseries,  which  describes  a  certain  motherly  person  greatly 
grieved  because  of  the  death  of  her  favorite  dog,  — 

"  So  she  went  out  to  buy  him  a  coffin; 
When  she  came  back  she  found  him  a-laughing." 

Mr.  Moderator,  we  are  not  dead.  We  have  never  had  any  idea  of 
dying.  How  could  we  die  when  we  are  vitalized  by  the  spirit  of 
Presbyterianism  and  by  all  the  memories  and  traditions  of  Presby- 


302  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

terian  history  ?  It  is  very  common  for  those  who  migrate  from  the 
Old  World  to  the  New  to  be  taunted  with  the  rawness  and  recency 
of  their  origin.  If  there  is  any  virtue  in  historic  lineage,  all  such 
have  as  indefeasible  a  right  in  every  thing  which  constitutes  the 
glory  of  Britain  as  those  who  still  hold  the  ancestral  cliifs.  In  like 
manner,  we,  as  a  Church,  are  no  foundlings,  blushing  at  the  bend 
of  illegitimacy  in  our  coat  armorial.  All  good  and  great  Pres 
byterian  names  are  our  common  property.  Your  Alexanders, 
McDowell,  Rice,  Miller,  are  ours,  as  our  Richards,  Skinner, 
Barnes,  and  Smith,  are  yours.  Chalmers,  the  Browns,  the  Erskines, 
are  ours.  The  Confession  of  Faith  is  ours.  The  old  Catechisms 
are  ours.  Presbyterianism,  in  all  its  bravery,  and  scholarship,  and 
fidelity,  is  ours,  as  truly  as  theirs  who  ever  have  lived  on  the  hills 
and  heather  of  Scotland. 

We  have  nothing  to  report  concerning  our  branch  of  the  Church 
but  the  special  goodness  of  Almighty  God.  We  do  this,  not  in  pride 
and  exultation,  but,  we  trust,  with  true  gratitude  for  the  past,  and 
humble  dependence  on  him  for  the  future.  All  our  organizations 
for  Church  work  are  complete  and  efficient.  Special  reference  may 
be  made  to  our  Home  Missionary  work,  which  has  been  greatly  pros 
pered;  Our  receipts  for  this  object  are,  I  believe,  considerably  in 
advance  of  your  own.  There  are  many  of  these  topics,  of  which,  in 
other  circumstances,  we  might  speak  at  length ;  but  it  will  be  ex 
pected  that  I  come  at  once  to  that  subject  of  Reunion,  which  at  this 
hour  occupies  all  minds  and  hearts. 

By  this  time,  we  must  all  be  convinced  how  much  easier  it  is  to 
break  than  to  mend,  to  tear  than  to  heal.  The  hand  of  a  child  may 
break  off  a  branch  from  a  rose-bush  ;  but  to  reunite  it  to  the  parent 
stock,  and  cause  it  to  grow  fibre  to  fibre,  bark  to  bark,  so  that  there 
shall  be  no  scar,  is  a  divine  art,  to  be  accomplished  only  by  a  Divine 
power.  In  what  has  been  done  already,  we  can  see  the  signs  of  some 
working  which  is  not  altogether  of  man.  No  man,  no  set  of  men,  on. 
either  side  can  take  to  themselves  the  credit  of  that  movement  which 
has  already  advanced  so  far  towards  its  consummation.  For  myself, 
I  can  honestly  .say  that  when  informed  that  my  name  was  put  on  the 
Joint  Committee,  magnanimously  inaugurated  by  your  Assembly  at  St. 
Louis,  in  1866,  I  had  very  little  faith  in  the  success  of  what  was  then 
projected.  I  see  before  me  my  friend  and  brother,  Rev.  Dr.  Beatty, 


THE    EEUlSTIOIir.  303 


Chairman  of  your  own  Committee  of  Fifteen,  who,  at  the  first  meet 
ing  of  our  Joint  Committee  in  February,  1867,  told  us  that  he  hoped 
from  some  summit  in  the  upper  world  one  day  to  look  down  upon 
this  Reunion  —  a  consummation  which  he  did  not  expect  to  see  on 
the  earth.  Day  before  yesterday,  in  his  address  to  our  Assembly,  he 
expressed  the  belief  that  this  blessed  issue  was  nigh  at  hand.  I  need 
not  fall  back  upon  the  etymology  of  his  name,  which  I  have  no  doubt 
is  derived  from  the  Latin  Jieatus,  to  find  reasons  for  congratulating 
him  on  his  happiness  this  day.  In  nothing  is  the  good  hand  of  God 
more  conspicuous  than  in  the  delays  and  doubts  and  hindrances 
which  had  their  origin  in  honest  convictions.  The  solution  of  a 
doubt  is  oftentimes  the  strongest  confirmation  of  truth.  I  may  apply 
to  a  good  cause  what  Robert  Hall  has  said  of  meritorious  character, 
—  it  rises  superior  to  opposition,  and  draws  lustre  from  reproach. 
The  vapors  which  gather  about  the  rising  sun  and  follow  it  through 
out  the  day,  seldom  fail,  when  evening  comes,  to  form  a  magnificent 
theatre  for  its  reception,  and  to  invest  with  variegated  tints  and  a 
softened  effulgence  the  luminary  which  they  cannot  hide. 

It  may  not  be  impertinent  to  say  that  as  we  know  of  nothing  in 
your  condition  as  a  Church  which  should  lead  you  to  seek  this  Re 
union  on  yovir  own  account,  so  there  is  nothing  in  our  condition 
which,  for  our  own  sake  merely,  makes  it  necessary  that  we  shoiild  be 
united.  You  are  a  strong  and  venerable  Church,  needing  no  acces 
sion  of  strength  or  numbers.  We  are  young,  vigorous,  and  flexible. 
To  a  remarkable  degree,  we  are  homogeneous  and  united.  We  have 
no  jealousies,  no  roots  of  bitterness  throughout  our  large  communion. 
So  far  as  I  know,  we  have  no  questions  before  us  which  are  likely  to 
divide  vis.  Slaveiy  is  dead.  Slavery  has  killed  itself  in  these  United 
States,  and  all  the  people  have  said  Amen.  Theological  polemics  are 
behind  us.  So  far  as  we  are  concerned,  it  must  be  confessed,  we  enjoy 
this  condition  of  things  mightily.  We  trust  that  it  will  not  be  re 
garded  as  an  offence  if  we  are  disposed  to  compare  ourselves  with  the 
herdmen  of  Isaac,  who  digged  a  well,  and  when  the  herdmen  of  Gerar 
strove  for  it,  called  it  Esek  —  Contention  —  and  passed  on  ;  and  they 
digged  another  well,  and  when  they  strove  for  that,  they  called  it 
Sitnah  —  Hatred  —  and  passed  on  ;  and  digged  a  third  well,  which 
they  called  REHOBOTH  —  ROOM.  Having  dug  our  new  well  Reho- 
both,  and  finding  its  waters  sweet  and  abundant,  rejoicing  in  the 


304  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

liberty  wherewith  Christ  maketh  us  free,  there  is  no  necessity,  and 
we  have  no  wish,  for  our  own  sakes  merely,  to  go  back  to  that  which 
is  past. 

But  there  is  a  ground  on  which  we  have  come  to  believe  that  re 
union  is  desirable,  pre-eminently  desirable.  It  is  a  consideration 
higher  and  grander  than  the  interests  of  either  branch,  —  the  good  of 
the  whole  country,  and  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Evangelism  is  better  than  ecclesiasticism.  Our  common  Christianity 
is  nobler  and  higher  than  any  zeal  for  partisanship. 

As  we  have  been  taught  by  our  common  system  of  theology,  that 
God  foreordains  whatsoever  comes  to  pass,  making  even  the,  wrath  of 
man  to  praise  Him,  we  may  suppose  that  each  of  these  distinct  bodies 
may  have  had  its  mission,  and  so  is  now  prepared  to  benefit  the 
other  in  a  new  combination ;  as  streams,  impregnated  with  the  quali 
ties  of  the  different  soils  through  which  they  run,  flow  together  and 
purify  each  other  by  the  gentle  effervescence  of  contrary  qualities.  I 
suppose  you  will  consider  it  no  affront  if  you  are  regarded  as  the 
special  conservators  of  orthodoxy.  Adopting  the  same  Confession  of 
Faith  with  yourselves  in  all  honesty,  we  will  not  shrink  from  being 
considered  as  the  special  advocates  and  representatives  of  liberty. 
Circumstances  have  created  these  distinctions.  You  will  not  think 
it  strange,  while  you  hold  steadfastly  to  your  orthodoxy  that  we 
should  magnify  and  assert  our  liberty.  We  have  found  it  neces 
sary  to  emphasize  the  fact  that,  within  the  bounds  of  our  common 
system  of  doctrine,  there  is  room  for  liberty.  As  there  always 
have  been,  so  there  always  will  be  differences  of  opinion  in 
unessential  particulars  among  those  who  are  agreed  heartily  in 
the  great  essentials  of  the  same  historic  system.  My  excellent  friend 
and  brother,  Rev.  Dr.  Musgrave,  when  addressing  our  Assembly,  two 
days  ago,  as  your  Delegate,  said,  emphatically,  in  his  admirable  elo 
quence,  that  he  rejoiced  in  the  name  of  Calvinist,  a  name  in  which 
we  rejoice  also ;  but  we  have  never  supposed  that  in  order  to  vindi 
cate  one's  title  to  that  honored  appelation,  every  one  of  us  should  go 
through  the  world  like  the  iron  man  Takis  in  the  drama,  with  his  flail 
crushing  on  the  right  hand  and  the  left,  all  who  differ  from  us  in  per 
mitted  shades  of  opinion.  You  and  we  together  insist  upon  the  free 
play  of  forces  within  the  range  of  our  common  self-prescribed  limita 
tions.  You  are  called  Old  School ;  we  are  called  New  School. 


THE    KEUNlOlSr.  305 


When  I  say  that  all  the  novelty,  all  the  innovation  in  theology  which 
we  represent  consists  in  getting  rid  of  superstitions,  using  the  word 
according  to  its  exact  etymology,  to  denote  those  things  imposed  upon 
theology  which  are  not  of  its  substance,  —  human  traditions  and 
philosophies,  which  have  attached  themselves  to  what  is  divine,  like 
barnacles  to  a  ship,  so  getting  back  more  and  more  to  the  old,  simple, 
primal,  granite,  eternal  facts  of  Revelation,  —  perhaps  it  will  appear 
not  altogether  impossible  to  reconcile  the  ideas  of  N~ew  and  Old  in 
true  harmony  and  unity.  Upon  this  point  it  is  not  necessary  to 
multiply  words,  on  our  part,  especially  as  we  recall  the  generous  act 
of  your  last  Assembly,  in  amply  vindicating  our  orthodoxy  by  that 
deliverence  which,  of  your  own  accord,  was  entered  upon  your 
minutes,  and  for  which  we  render  you,  in  the  name  of  all  truth  and 
fairness,  our  sincere  thanks. 

Should  this  reunion  be  consummated,  there  are  two  things,  Mr. 
Moderator,  which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  will  be  of  immense  importance, 
and  of  which  I  would  presume  to  speak  a  word,  without  appearing 
to  drop  into  the  strain  of  professional  homiletics.  The  first  relates 
to  the  mode  in  which,  from  this  time  onward,  we  are  to  treat  one  an 
other.  Nothing  is  so  long-lived  and  inveterate  as  prejudice  —  pro 
fessional  prejudice,  party  prejudice,  sectional  prejudice.  While  hold 
ing  to  freedom  of  speech,  the  utmost  freedom  of  the  Press,  can  any 
candid  man  deny  that  the  Church  and  the  country  are  both  suffering 
at  this  hour  from  the  misrepresentations  of  a  partisan  Press  ?  We 
have  had  enough  of  parvanimity  —  -  let  us  pledge  ourselves  now  to  a 
noble  magnanimity.  Let  my  right  hand  forget  its  cunning,  and  my 
tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if  I  write  or  speak  one  word 
which  shall  tend  to  rekindle  old  prejudices,  revive  old  issues,  or  ex 
cite  distrust  and  suspicion  in  this  critical  hour  of  healing.  If  any 
man  is  disposed  to  do  this,  to  give  heed  to  idle  rumor,  to  propagate 
rumors  and  suspicions  fitted  to  make  divisions,  just  when  the  tissues 
are  beginning  to  knit  themselves  together  into  a  new  confidence,  we 
have  inspired  authority  for  the  direction  to  mark  that  man.  What 
a  noble  opportunity  especially  is  theirs  who,  advanced  in  years  and 
having  a  vivid  memory  of  former  times,  veterans  scarred  in  past  con 
flicts,  men  whose  honest  convictions  are  always  to  be  honored,  may 
so  take  the  lead,  at  this  new  era,  in  the  conquest  of  personal  preju 
dices  and  partialities,  as  that  they  shall  secure  the  love,  gratitude,  and 
20 


306  PEESBYTEEIAN    KEITNION. 

honor  of  a  new  generation,  and  go  to  their  rest  at  the  close  of  life 
with  the  benedictions  of  a  united  Church.  What  the  country  needs 
now  most  of  all,  and  the  Church  also,  is  the  restoration  of  intelligent 
confidence  between  all  its  parts,  North  and  South,  East  and  West. 
Let  the  educated  men  of  the  country,  especially  our  ministers  and 
elders,  cultivate  more  of  intercourse  and  acquaintanceship,  and  they 
will  bind  this  whole  land  into  compactness,  as  the  roots  of  the  willows 
by  the  water-courses  give  firmness  to  the  sod.  If  our  Union  is  to  be 
based  on  confidence  and  honor,  then  honor  must  be  whole-hearted. 
We  cannot  mix  clay  and  iron  and  gold  together. 

The  second  thing  is  the  wisdom  and  the  necessity  of  engaging  im 
mediately  in  larger  enterprises  of  Christian  evangelism.  This  is  the 
true  method  of  diverting  thought  from  obsolete  questions,  and  pre 
venting  new  divisions  because  of  minor  and  subordinate  matters. 
"  Doth  the  wild  ass  bray  when  he  hath  grass,  or  loweth  the  ox  over 
his  fodder  ?  "  The  true  way  to  arrest  all  senseless  brayings  and  low- 
ings  is  to  fill  heart  and  hands  with  grand  and  urgent  work.  We  are 
much  impressed  on  our  side  with  the  paramount  necessity  of  evangel 
izing  our  cities  and  new  territories,  believing  that  Presbyterianism 
has  peculiar  advantages  for  this  vast  achievement.  In  our  late 
national  struggle  manifold  were  the  diversities  of  opinion  in  regard 
to  men  and  measures,  but  these  were  all  compelled  to  follow  the  one 
grand  purpose  to  preserve  the  national  life  and  integrity.  We  read 
in  the  Apocalypse  of  certain  forms  of  life  destined  to  annoy  the 
Church,  that  "  their  power  is  in  their  tails."  No  matter  how  many 
tails  a  serpent  may  have,  so  long  as  he  has  but  one  head  he  will  be 
able  to  glide  through  any  thicket,  every  caudal  extremity  forced  to 
obey  one  capital  tractive  power.  It  is  the  attempt  to  put  these  di 
versities  in  the  foreground  —  going  as  it  were  tails  foremost  —  which 
ensures  either  stoppage  or  dismemberment.  Let  us  make  sure  of 
true  unity  by  undertaking  great  things  for  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord. 
Our  Theological  Seminaries  should  be  more  liberally  endowed.  The 
scholars  of  the  Church  should  be  provided  for  more  generously.  As 
thank-offerings  to  God,  new  churches  should  spring  up  all  over  the 
land.  Now  is  the  time  for  splendid  action.  We  have  been  skirmish 
ing  only,  using  squads  and  detachments.  Now  for  the  bugle-note 
sounding  for  an  advance  along  the  whole  line. 

Having  drawn  an  illustration  from  the  wells  of  Isaac  of  different 


THE    EEUNION.  307 

names,  it  occurs  to  me  that  there  was  a  sequel  to  that  history  which 
justifies  a  further  analogy.  In  his  new  encampment,  Jehovah  ap 
peared  unto  Isaac  and  said,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  thy  father : 
fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  bless  thee  and  multiply  thy 
seed. "  "  Then  Abimeleck  went  to  him  from  Gerar  and  Ahuzzath, 
one  of  his  friends,  and  Phichol  the  chief  captain  of  his  army.  "  And 
Isaac  said  unto  them,  "  Wherefore  come  ye  to  me,  seeing  ye  hate  me, 
and  have  sent  me  away  from  you  ?  "  And  they  said,  "  We  saw  cer 
tainly  that  the  Lord  was  with  thee  "  —  anticipating  that  fine  formula 
of  Irenseus,  "  where  the  Spirit  is  there  is  the  Church,"  in  distinction 
from  the  ecclesiastical  formula,  "  Where  the  Church  is  there  is  the 
spirit  "  — "we  saw  certainly  that  the  Lord  was  with  thee  ;  and  we  said, 
Let  there  be  now  an  oath  betwixt  us  and  thee,  and  let  us  make  a 
covenant  with  thee. "  "So  they  made  a  feast,  and  did  eat  and  drink 
together ; "  and  the  last  well  which  was  dug  there  was  called 
BEERSHEBA  —  Tfie  well  of  the  oath  —  for  there  those  who  had  been 
at  variance  sware  one  to  another  in  a  blessed  covenant  of  amity  and 
peace.  "  Then  Israel  sang  this  song. "  Shall  we,  ere  this  week  is 
past,  sing  it,  here  on  Murray  Hill,  by  the  side  of  our  new  well  ? 
"  Spring  up,  O  well ;  sing  ye  unto  it :  The  princes  digged  the  well, 
the  nobles  of  the  people  digged  it,  by  the  direction  of  the  lawgiver." 
So  they  journeyed  "  from  the  wilderness  to  the  top  of  Pisgah." 

Pisgah  !  with  what  blessed  memories  and  hopes  is  the  name  associ 
ated.  Shall  we  stand  awhile  together  upon  this  mount  of  vision  and 
look  around  us.  There  is  one  temptation  to  which  we  are  exposed 
at  this  hour,  and  that  is  elation.  So  much  is  said  of  the  excellence 
of  our  standards  of  doctrine  and  polity  that  we  are  in  danger  of  ex 
alting  them  unduly,  foi'getting  that  they  are  but  instrumental  to  that 
which  is  higher  and  nobler.  Leighton  says  that  the  devil  is  alert  in 
watching  for  full  and  satisfied  souls,  just  as  pirates  look  out  for  ships 
which  are  heavily  freighted,  letting  the  empty  pass  unmolested.  If 
we  shall  be  tempted  to  pride  because  of  our  numbers  and  wealth  and 
ecclesiastical  strength,  we  shall  be  in  imminent  peril.  Believing  as 
we  all  do  that  our  Church  system  is  subordinate  to  Christianity,  let 
this  memorable  week  be  distinguished  by  the  birth  of  a  purer  and 
loftier  type  of  spiritual  religion. 

Pisgah !  how  is  the  word  associated  with  heavenly  visions  and 
hopes.  How  small  in  the  presence  of  death  those  distinctions  of 


308  PRESBYTERIAN    REUOTON. 

which  we  make  so  much  in  "  the  pride  of  life.  "  What  difference  can 
we  imagine  there  is  now  between  Krebs  and  Brainerd,  Erskine 
Mason  and  James  W.  Alexander,  and  all  those  who  have  been  wel 
comed  by  the  Lord  of  glory  to  His  presence  out  of  these  two  sepa 
rated  Branches  of  the  Church  on  earth  ?  How  are  we  to  account  for 
that  physiological  fact  which  has  so  often  come  under  our  profes 
sional  notice,  that  as  nature  dissolves  itself  into  its  simplest  elements, 
the  moral  affections  come  forth  with  utmost  tenderness  and  power. 
Some  twenty  years  ago,  when  our  partisan  prejudices  were  in  their 
first  heat  and  strength,  I  had  a  neighbor,  eminent  for  his  scholarship 
and  for  his  legal  reputation  and  office,  who  was  so  thoroughly  impreg 
nated  with  theological  partialities  that  he  could  regard  me  only  with 
cold  distrust  and  suspicion.  For  years  our  intercourse  was  confined 
to  the  most  frigid  forms  of  civility.  He  was  seized  by  painful  and 
fatal  illness,  during  which,  at  his  request,  I  frequently  visited  him. 
Not  a  word  ever  passed  between  us  pertaining  to  different  schools  and 
systems.  We  talked  of  "  the  common  salvation."  All  that  was  rigid 
and  exclusive  disappeared.  Every  thing  that  was  sweet  and  tender 
and  gentle  came  forth.  How  often  did  he  take  my  hand  and  kiss  it 
over  and  over  again  in  fondest  affection.  The  intellectual  gave  place 
to  the  moral  —  the  simple  affections  of  the  heart  asserted  their 
supremacy.  Why  should  we  defer  till  the  process  of  dissolution  that 
union  which  is  sure  to  be  at  last  through  the  medium  of  Christian 
love?  "All  my  theology,"  said  that  sweet  saint,  Dr.  Archibald 
Alexander,  when  waiting  and  listening  for  the  footsteps  of  his  Mas 
ter,  "  is  reduced  to  this  brief  compass  —  the  faithful  saying,  worthy 
of  all  acceptation,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners." 

My  dear  Mr.  Moderator,  pardon  my  prolixity,  and  accept  the 
most  cordial,  fraternal,  and  Christian  salutations  for  yourself,  and  the 
Assembly  over  which  you  preside,  from  those  whom  we  have  the 
honor  to  represent.  God  bless  you  and  them  in  all  things !  God 
bless  all  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church !  God  bless  all  true 
Christian  ministers  and  men ;  "all  who,  in  every  place,  call  upon  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  both  theirs  and  ours  !  "  In  this  day 
of  gladness,  because  of  the  reunion  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  let  us 
chant  together  the  jubilant  words  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  made 
ready  for  our  use,  "  Jerusalem  is  builded  as  a  city  that  is  compact  to- 


THE    EEUjSTION.  309 

gether.  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem.  For  my  brethren  and 
companions'  sakes,  I  will  now  say,  Peace  be  within  thee.  Because  of 
the  house  of  the  Lord  our  God,  I  will  seek  thy  good." 

A  week  had  elapsed  since  the  opening  of  the  Assem 
blies,  and  on  Thursday,  the  seventh  day,  the  Joint  Com 
mittee  was  ready  to  report.  As  this  was  the  document 
upon  which  both  Assemblies  agreed  in  their  final  action 
upon  Reunion,  it  is  here  inserted  entire,  that  it  may  be 
conveniently  compared  with  preceding  reports  on  the 
same  subject.  It  was  signed  individually  by  eveiy 
member  of  both  committees. 

REPORT  PRESENTED  TO  THE  TWO  ASSEMBLIES  OF  1869. 

The  Committee  of  Conference  appointed  by  the  two  General  As 
semblies,  have  attended  to  the  duties  assigned  to  them ;  and  after  a 
very  free  interchange  of  views,  with  prayer  to  Almighty  God  for  his 
guidance,  are  unanimous  in  recommending  to  the  Assemblies  for 
their  consideration,  and,  if  they  see  fit,  their  adoption,  the  accompa 
nying  three  papers,  to  wit: 

1.  Plan  of  Reunion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America ; 

2.  Concurrent  Declarations  of  the  General  Assemblies  of   1869 ; 
and, 

3.  Recommendation  of  a  day  of  Prayer. 

WILLIAM  ADAMS,   Chairman. 

Old  School.  Kew  School. 

G.  W.  MCJSGRAVE.  J.  F.  STEARNS. 

A.  G.  HALL.  R.  W.  PATTERSON. 

L.  H.  ATWATER.  S.  W.  FISHER. 

WILLIS  LORD.  JAMES  B.  SHAW. 

H.  R.  WILSON.  W.  STRONG. 

ROBERT  CARTER.  DANIEL  HAINES. 

C.  D.  DRAKE.  WILLIAM  E.  DODGE. 

WM.  M.  FRANCIS.  J.  S.  FARRAND. 

JOHN  C.  GRIER.  JOHN  L.  KNIGHT. 

HENRY  DAY,  Secretary. 


310  PRESBYTERIAN"   REUNION. 


I.  —  PLAN  OF  REUNION  OP  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES  OP  AMERICA. 

Believing  that  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  would  be  promoted 
by  the  healing  of  our  divisions,  and  that  the  two  bodies  bearing  the  same 
names,  having  the  same  Constitution,  and  each  recognizing  the  other  as  a 
sound  and  orthodox  body  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Confession  com 
mon  to  both,  cannot  be  justified  by  any  but  the  most  imperative  reasons  in 
maintaining  separate  and,  in  some  respects,  rival  organizations ;  we  are  now 
clearly  of  the  opinion  that  the  reunion  of  those  bodies  ought,  as  soon  as  the 
necessary  steps  can  be  taken,  to  be  accomplished,  upon  the  basis  hereinafter 
set  forth. 

1.  The  Presbyterian  Churches  in  the  United  States  of  America,  namely, 
that  whose  General  Assembly  convened  in  the  Brick  Church  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  on  the  20th  day  of  May,  1869,  and  that  whose  General  Assembly 
met  in  the  Church  of  the  Covenant  in  the  said  city  on  the  same  day,  shall  be 
reunited   as  one    Church,  under  the  name  and   style  of   the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  possessing  all  the  legal  and  corpor 
ate  rights  and  powers  pertaining  to  the  Church  previous  to  the  division  in 
1838,  and  all  the  legal  and  corporate  rights  and  powers  which  the  separate 
churches  now  possess. 

2.  The  reunion  shall  be  effected  on  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  basis 
of  our  common  Standards ;  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
shall  be  acknowledged  to  be  the  inspired  word  of  God,  and  the  only  infallible 
rule  of  faith  and  practice ;  the  Confession  of  Faith  shall  continue  to  be  sin 
cerely  received  and  adopted  as  containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  the  government  and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  shall  be  approved  as  containing  the  principles 
and  rules  of  our  polity. 

3.  Each  of  the  said  Assemblies  shall  submit  the  foregoing  basis  to  its  pres 
byteries,  which  shall  be  required  to  meet  on  or  before  the  15th  day  of  Octo 
ber,  1869,  to  express  their  approval  or  disapproval  of  the  same,  by  a  categor 
ical  answer  to  the  following  question : 

Do  you  approve  of  the  reunion  of  the  two  bodies  now  claiming  the  name 
and  rights  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  on 
the  following  basis,  namely :  "  The  reunion  shall  be  effected  on  the  doctrinal 
and  ecclesiastical  basis  of  our  common  Standards ;  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  shall  be  acknowledged  to  be  the  inspired  word  of  God, 
and  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice ;  the  Confession  of  Faith 
shall  continue  to  be  sincerely  received  and  adopted  as  containing  the  system 
of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  the  Government  and  Disci 
pline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  shall  be  approved  as 
containing  the  principles  and  rules  of  our  polity  "  ? 

Each  Presbytery  shall,  before  the  first  day  of  November,  1869,  forward  to 


THE   REUNION.  311 

the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly  with  which  it  is  connected,  a 
statement  of  its  vote  on  the  said  Basis  of  Reunion. 

4  The  said  General  Assemblies  now  sitting  shall,  after  finishing  their 
business,  adjourn,  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
second  Wednesday  of  November,  1869,  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M. 

If  the  two  General  Assemblies  shall  then  find  and  declare  that  the  above- 
named  Basis  of  Reunion  has  been  approved  by  two  thirds  of  the  Presbyteries 
connected  with  each  branch  of  the  church,  then  the  same  shall  be  of  binding 
force,  and  the  two  Assemblies  shall  take  action  accordingly. 

5.  The  said  General  Assemblies  shall  then  and  there  make  provision  for 
the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  united  church  on  the  third 
Thursday  of  May,   1870.     The  Moderators  of  the  two  present  Assemblies 
shall  jointly  preside  at  the  said  Assembly  of  1870,  until  another  Moderator  is 
chosen.     The  Moderator  of  the  Assembly  now  sitting  at  the  Brick  Church 
aforesaid  shall,  if  present,  put  all  votes  and  decide  questions  of  order ;  and 
the  Moderator  of  the  other  Assembly  shall,  if  present,  preach  the  opening 
sermon ;  and  the  Stated  Clerks  of  the  present  Assemblies  shall  act  as  Stated 
Clerks  of  the  Assembly  of  the  united  church,  until  a  Stated  Clerk  or  Clerks 
shall  have  been  chosen  thereby ;  and  no  Commissioner  shall  have  a  right  to 
vote  or  deliberate  in  said  Assembly  until  his  name  shall  have  been  enrolled  by 
the  said  Clerks,  and  his  commission  examined  and  filed  among  the  papers  of 
the  Assembly. 

6.  Each  Presbytery  of  the  separate  churches  shall  be  entitled  to  the  same 
representation  in  the  Assembly  of  the  united  church  in  1870,  as  it  is  entitled 
to  in  the  Assembly  with  which  it  is  now  connected. 

II.  — CONCURRENT  DECLARATIONS  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES  OF  1869. 

As  there  are  matters  pertaining  to  the  interests  of  the  Church,  when  it 
shall  have  become  reunited,  which  will  manifestly  require  adjustment  on  the 
coming  together  of  two  bodies  which  have  so  long  acted  separately,  and  con 
cerning  some  of  which  matters  it  is  highly  desirable  that  there  should  be  a 
previous  good  understanding,  the  two  Assemblies  agree  to  adopt  the  follow 
ing  declarations,  not  as  articles  of  compact  or  covenant,  but  as  in  their  judg 
ment  proper  and  equitable  arrangements,  to  wit : 

1.  All  the  ministers  and  churches  embraced  in  the  two  bodies  should  be 
admitted  to  the  same  standing  in  the  united  body,  which  they  may  have 
held  in  their  respective  connections,  up  to  the  consummation  of  the  union. 

2.  Imperfectly  organized  churches  are  counselled  and  expected  to  become 
thoroughly  Presbyterian,  as  early  within  the  period  of  five  years  as  may  be 
permitted   by  the  highest   interests   to  be  consulted;    and  no  other  such 
churches  shall  be  hereafter  received. 

3.  The  boundaries  of  the  several  Presbyteries  and  Synods  should  be  ad 
justed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  united  church. 


312  PEESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

4.  The  official  records  of  the  two  branches  of  the  church  for  the  period  of 
separation  should  be  preserved  and  held  as  making  up  the  one  history  of  the 
church ;  and  no  rule  or  precedent  which  does  not  stand  approved  by  both  the 
bodies,  should  be  of  any  authority  until  re-established  in  the  united  body, 
except  in  so  far  as  such  rule  or  precedent  may  affect  the  rights  of  property 
founded  thereon. 

5.  The  corporate  rights  now  held  by  the  two  General  Assemblies,  and  by 
their  Boards  and  Committees,  should,  as  far  as  practicable,  be  consolidated, 
and  applied  for  their  several  objects,  as  denned  by  law. 

6.  There  should  be  one  set  of  Committees  or  Boards  for  Home  and  For 
eign  Missions,  and  the  other  religious  enterprises  of  the  church ;  which  the 
churches  should  be  encouraged  to  sustain,  though  free  to  cast  their  contribu 
tions  into  other  channels  if  they  desire  to  do  so. 

7.  As  soon  as  practicable  after  the  union  shall  have  been  effected,  the 
General  Assembly  should  reconstruct  and  consolidate  the  several  Permanent 
Committees  and  Boards  which  now  belong  to  the  two  Assemblies,  so  as  to 
represent,  as  far  as  possible  with   impartiality,  the  views  and  wishes  of  the 
two  bodies  constituting  the  united  church. 

8.  The  publications  of  the  Board  of  Publication  and  of  the  Publication 
Committee  should  continue  to  be  issued  as  at  present,  leaving  it  to  the  Board 
of  Publication  of  the  united  church  to  revise  these  issues  and  perfect  a  cata 
logue  for  the  united  church  so  as  to  exclude  invidious  references  to  past  con 
troversies. 

9.  In  order  to  a  uniform  system  of  ecclesiastical  supervision,  those  Theo 
logical  Seminaries  that  are  now  under  Assembly  control  may,  if  their  Boards 
of  Direction  so  elect,  be  transferred  to  the  watch  and  care  of  one  or  more  of 
the  adjacent  Synods;  and  the  other  Seminaries  are  advised  to  introduce,  as 
far  as  may  be,  into  their  Constitutions,  the  principle  of  Synodical  or  Assem 
bly  supervision ;  in  which  case  they  shall  be  entitled  to  an  official  recognition 
and  approbation  on  the  part  of  the  General  Assembly. 

10.  It  should  be  regarded  as  the  duty  of  all  our  judicatories,  ministers, 
and  people  in  the  united  church,  to  study  the  things  which  make  for  peace, 
and  to  guard  against  all  needless  and  offensive  references  to  the  causes  that 
have  divided  us;  and  in  order  to  avoid  the  revival  of  past  issues  by  the  con 
tinuance  of  any  usage  in  either  branch  of  the  church,  that  has  grown  out  of 
former  conflicts,  it  is  earnestly  recommended  to  the  lower  judicatories  of  the 
church  that  they  conform  their  practice  in  relation  to  all  such  usages,  as  far 
as  is  consistent  with  their  convictions  of  duty,  to  the  general  custom  of  the 
church  prior  to  the  controversies  that  resulted  in  the  separation. 

III.  —  KECOMMENDATION  OP  A  DAY  OP  PKAYER. 

That  the  counsels  of  Infinite  Wisdom  may  guide  our  decisions,  and  the 
blessing  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  rest  upon  the  result  of  our  efforts 


THE  BEumoisr.  313 

for  Reunion,  it  is  earnestly  recommended  to  the  churches  throughout  both 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  that  they  observe  the  second  Sabbath 
in  September,  1869,  as  a  day  of  fervent  and  united  prayer  to  Almighty  God, 
that  he  would  grant  unto  us  all  "  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  the  spirit 
of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord,"  and  in  the  new  relations  now 
contemplated,  enable  us  to  "keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bonds  of 
peace." 

The  chief  points  of  difference  between  this  document 
and  the  Report  of  1868,  it  will  be  seen,  are  these : 

It  distinguishes  several  things  which  before  had  been 
confounded  in  popular  apprehension.  It  does  not  pro 
pose  a  new  Basis  for  Reunion.  The  first  Report,  of  the 
first  Joint  Committee  recommended  that  the  "  Reunion 
shall  be  effected  on  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical 
basis  of  our  common  standards."  No  other  basis  was 
ever  thought  of  by  any.  But  this  basis,  in  the  first 
instance,  was  accompanied  by  certain  terms  relating  to 
cognate  subjects,  such  as  in  the  circumstances  were 
thought  to  be  necessary  to  bring  about  a  good  under 
standing.  These  terms  had  been  confounded  in  many 
minds  with  the  Basis  itself.  This  appeared  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  different  Presbyteries  took  action 
on  the  overture.  In  the  new  and  last  Report,  to  prevent 
all  confusion,  these  several  matters  are  carefully  distin 
guished.  The  Basis  stands  by  itself.  It  is  so  framed 
that  the  Presbyteries  were  required  to  render  a  cate 
gorical  answer  to  the  question  whether  it  should  be 
approved  or  disapproved. 

But  inasmuch  as  it  was  not  only  desirable  but  abso 
lutely  necessary  that  some  good  understanding  should 
be  established  between  Bodies  so  long  separated,  those 
matters  which  in  previous  reports  had  been  constituent 
parts  of  the  compact  and  terms  of  covenant  are  here 


314  PEESBYTEEIAIST    EEUNION. 

put  into  the  form  of  "  concurrent  declarations"  as  being 
of  equal  force  and  value  with  men  of  Christian  confi 
dence  and  honor. 

Previous  conferences,  debates,  and  articles  had  accom 
plished  their  needful  service.  In  regard  to  the  doctrinal 
article,  it  was  no  more  necessary  that  any  explanatory 
clause  designed  to  represent  either  side,  should  be  intro 
duced.  The  old  qualifications  —  excellent  in  their  time 
and  place —  "  as  it  is  accepted  by  the  two  bodies,"  "  as 
it  is  now  maintained  in  the  two  bodies,"  "  as  they  have 
hitherto  been  allowed  in  the  separate  churches "-  -  are 
all  dropped,  and  in  their  place  a  better  expression  is  in 
troduced  into  the  preamble  —  satisfactory  to  all,  "  EACH 
RECOGNIZING  THE  OTHER  AS  A  SOUND  AND  OETHODOX 
BODY."  Thus  it  appeared  as  the  result  of  the  way  in 
which  Grod  had  led  us,  through  all  conferences  and 
debates,  that  entire  confidence  between  the  negotiating 
bodies  had  been  reached,  and  so  the  Reunion  was  con 
summated. 

The  scenes  which  occurred,  in  both  Assemblies,  when 
the  final  vote  was  taken  upon  the  Report  of  the  Com 
mittee,  were  such  as  occur  only  once  in  a  lifetime.  As 
these  belong  to  a  subsequent  chapter  of  the  volume 
descriptive  of  the  Assemblies  in  New  York  and  Pitts- 
burg,  to  be  written  by  their  respective  Moderators,  they 
will  not  be  anticipated. 

The  writer  of  this  chapter,  a  member  of  the  Joint 
Committee  from  the  beginning,  in  1866,  cannot  lay  down 
his  pen  without  making  record  of  his  conviction  that 
the  whole  movement  has  been  under  the  guidance  of 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church.  The  work  of  healing 
what  was  broken,  of  uniting  what  was  sundered,  was 


THE   EEUXIOH'.  315 


divine.  No  man,  no  set  of  men,  can  take  to  themselves 
the  credit  of  its  success.  Oftentimes  faith  faltered 
and  the  issue  seemed  most  dubious.  But  difficulties  at 
the  critical  moment  disappeared,  and  discomfitures  and 
delays  were  overruled  for  good.  The  faces  of  good 
men,  alive  when  the  movement  began,  but  translated 
before  it  was  complete,  —  Brainerd,  Krebs,  Gurley, 
Brown,  —  smile  on  their  surviving  associates  who  have 
seen  its  consummation.  To  mention  the  services  ren-' 
dered  by  individual  members  of  the  Committee  now 
living  or  dead,  would  be  invidious.  Each  contributed 
his  part  ;  and  some,  representing  different  sections  and 
interests  of  our  extended  country  and  of  our  beloved 
Church,  exhibited  a  degree  of  wisdom  and  faith,  firm 
ness  and  charity,  discernment  and  skill,  which  will  never 
be  forgotten  by  their  associates. 

May  the  future  of  our  history  furnish  proof  that  the 
whole  movement  is  approved  of  God,  and  tends  to  the 
augmented  usefulness  of  the  Church,  the  good  of  our 
native  land,  and  the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom  of 
our  Lord  throughout  the  world. 


CHAPTER    SIXTH. 

THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869. 


BY    THEKEV.     M.     W.    JACOBUS,     D.D.,     LL.D. 


Vigorous  Maturity  of  the  Church.  —  Reunion  a  Necessity.  —  The  Antecedents. 

—  Classes  of  Opinion  on  Reunion.  —  Assembly  of  1866.  —  Discussions.  — 

—  Basis   of  Reunion.  —  The   Smith   and   G-urley  Clauses.  —  The   Tenth 
Article.  —  Undecided  Action  of  the  Assemblies  of  1868.  —  The  Pittsburg 
Circular.  —  The  Standards  Pure  and  Simple.  —  Growth  of  Mutual  Confi 
dence.  —  New  York.  —  Old   Brick   Church.  —  The  Church  of  the  Cove 
nant.  —  Introductory  Prayer  Meeting.  —  Prevailing  Spirit  of  Reunion.  — 
Some  wearied  by  the  Tedious  Negotiations.  —  Some  for  Immediate  Reun 
ion.  —  The  Opening.  —  The  Sermons.  —  The  Organization.  —  Joint  Com 
mittee  of   Conference.  —  Elders'  Prayer  Meeting.  —  The  Sabbath.  —  So 
cial  Reunion.  —  Reception  of  Delegates  in  the  New  School  Assembly.  — 
Reception  of  Delegates  in  the  Old   School  Assembly.  —  Report  of  the 
Joint  Committee  of  Conference.  —  The  Catechisms.  —  Inside  History.  — 
Mutual   Confidence.  —  The   Vote.  —  Overturing   to   the   Presbyteries.  — 
Delegations  announcing  the  Vote.  —  Joint  Communion  Season.  —  Bohe 
mian  Delegation.  —  Methodist   Delegation.  —  The    Southern   Church.  — 
Christian   Council.  —  The   Evangelical   Alliance.  —  Adjournment.  —  Pas 
toral   Letter.  —  Day   of    Prayer.  —  Proceedings   at   Pittsburg.  —  Report 
from  the  Presbyteries.  —  Home  Missions.  • —  Delegations  announcing  the 
Vote.  —  Dissolution  of  the  Assembly. —  The  Reunion  Jubilee. 

IT  has  been  truly  said  that  "  the  meetings  of  the  Old 
and  New  School  General  Assemblies  of  1869,  almost 
within  speaking  distance,  on  Murray  Hill,  New  York, 
will  be  memorable  so  long  as  the  Presbyterian  Church 
lives  in  this  country  or  the  world." 

It  was  no  conclave  of  Prelates,  in  Ecumenical  Coun 
cil,  at  the  seat  of  Church  power,  plotting  the  subver 
sion  of  free  Institutions  and  of  pure  Evangelical  Chris 
tianity.  But  representative  bodies  of  Christ's  ministers, 
having  the  same  historic  name  and  polity,  were  con- 

(316) 


FIRST  CHURCH.  PITTSBURGH,  PA. 


THE   ASSEMBLIES   OF    1869.  317 


55 


vened  in  the  spirit  of  concord,  and  were  yearning, 
though  long  alienated,  to  become  again  one.  Because 
it  was  Reunion,  rather  than  Union  that  was  contem 
plated,  the  occasion  was  all  the  more  conspicuous  in 
the  eye  of  the  world.  And  yet,  for  this  very  reason, 
the  work  itself  was  all  the  more  difficult.  Old  griev 
ances  were  to  be  conciliated,  and  old  strifes  were  to  be 
buried  and  forgotten.  And  the  reflections  and  crimi 
nations  of  the  separation  were  to  give  place  to  mutual 
greetings,  as  of  those  who  are  of  right,  "  one  body  in 
Christ,  and  every  one  members  one  of  another."  Such 
events  are  advents  of  grace  and  blessing.  There  is  a 
charm  in  the  healing  —  a  great  grace  in  the  reuniting 
of  dissevered  parts  —  as  when  the  rod  of  gold  is  cut  in 
pieces  in  order  to  form  the  links  of  a  golden  chain, 
which  shall  be  far  more  beautiful  and  useful  than  the 
rod  itself. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America  had  now  attained  its 
fourscore  years.  It  had  reached  this  age  "  by  reason 
of*  strength,"  and  so  far  from  the  "  strength  "  being 
"  labor  and  sorrow,"  the  labor  and  sorrow  had  become 
the  strength.  The  movement  now  happily  culminating 
and  traced  through  a  history  of  strife  and  tears,  stands 
without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  the  Christian 
Church.  That  bodies  formerly  one  household,  but  long 
time  sundered  by  great  questions  of  doctrine  and 
polity,  with  all  the  animosities  and  jealousies  spring 
ing  out  of  such  a  disruption,  should  become  one  again, 
after  a  generation  of  separate,  and  often  of  rival  action 
-  this  was  the  marvel !  But  just  because  the  divi 
sion  had  lasted  through  a  generation,  it  was  all  the  more 


318  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

a  time  for  Reunion,  when  most  of  the  men,  left  on 
the  field,  had  not  been  personally  involved  in  the  act 
of  separation.  It  was  also  because  there  was  vitality 
in  the  parts  that  there  was  the  element  of  healing :  Or 
rather,  because  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had  breathed 
upon  the  scattered  limbs,  that  they  came  together 
again,  bone  to  his  bone,  in  all  the  plain. 

The  event,  considered  in  all  its  bearings,  is  so  signal 
and  so  significant  as  to  seem  to  be  a  great  first  chapter 
in  that  Johannean  development  for  which  the  Church 
looks  and  waits  —  the  a^e  of  Christian  concord  and 

O 

love,  in  all  the  body  of  Christ.  It  is  notable  that  the 
generation  which  had  been  passed  in  division,  and  to 
some  extent  also  in  dissension,  had  wrought  silent  and 
steady  results  towards  conciliation.  Each  body,  claim 
ing,  on  whatever  ground,  to  be  "  The  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America,"  -  -  what  wonder  if  each  was,  all  the  while, 
the  rather  intent  on  making  good  its  claim  in  the  eye 
of  the  world?  Besides,  the  lessons  of  the  strife  had 
been  put  to  account,  to  the  end  of  correcting  what  was 
amiss.  So  that,  at  this  period,  the  respective  parts 
were  found,  by  all  confession,  in  great  degree,  homoge 
neous,  as  they  were  not  at  the  division  —  thus  always 
tending  towards  each  other,  rather  than  apart.  The 
Congregational  element,  introduced  by  "The  Plan  of 
Union"  of  1801,  had,  in  large  measure,  occasioned  the 
outbreak  of  1837;  and  the  question  was  whether  the 
disruption  would  work  in  that  direction,  as  to  doctrine 
and  polity,  or  in  the  line  of  reaction  towards  the  old 
paths.  It  was  just  the  steadfast  adherence  to  the  Pres 
byterian  faith  and  order  in  the  mass,  that  came,  at 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OP    1869.  319 

length,  to  demand  a  Keunion  of  the  respective  parts, 
when  the  reconsideration  and  adjustment,  on  either 
side,  had  so  diminished  the  differences.  Every  lover  of 
the  Church  felt  that  there  was  a  great  sacrifice  of 
Church  power  by  such  separate  operation,  which  could 
be  justified  no  longer  when  essential  divergence  was  at 
an  end. 

Different  views,  it  is  true,  were  all  along  taken  of 
the  situation.  And  some  on  both  sides,  who  had  been 
opposed  to  the  disruption,  were  now  as  conscientiously 
opposed  to  the  Reunion.  But  it  was  just  the  question 
whether  the  grand  inner  forces  of  a  true  Presbyterian- 
ism  were  not  steadily  working  towards  a  homogeneity 
which  would  warrant  a  reuniting  of  the  sundered  but 
affiliated  parts,  and  whether  the  time  had  not  even  now 
come  for  the  Reunion.  True,  it  could  be  claimed  that 
the  signal  thrift  and  success  of  the  two  branches,  in 
their  separation,  were  such  as  to  justify  the  separate 
organizations,  and  that  a  healthful  competition  had 
been  even  an  element  of  success  fully  warranting  a 
longer  continuance  apart ;  but  such  a  view  is  quite  too 
secular,  and  overlooks  the  higher  demands  for  the  one 
ness  of  the  Church  of  Christ  by  all  legitimate  means. 

But  peril  to  Scriptural  doctrine  was  the  stronger 
point  made  by  not  a  few,  and  that  on  either  side. 

Though  at  the  disruption  the  formal  question  was 
a  constitutional  one,  —  a  question  of  Church  polity 
rather  than  of  creed,  —  and  though,  as  to  doctrine,  the 
separating  portion  had  then  formally  protested  their 
orthodoxy,  and  some  of  the  highest  authorities  in  the 
exscinding  body  were  so  agreed,  and  maintained  that 
the  divergence  was  not  such  as  to  infer  separation,  yet, 


320  PRESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

all  along,  a  zeal  for  the  truth,  as  set  forth  in  our  Cal- 
vinistic  system,  led  many  in  the  Old  School  branch  to 
dissent,  or  greatly  to  hesitate  as  to  the  Reunion.  But 
actual  uniformity  is  not  pretended  in  either  body ;  and 
the  degree  of  divergence  can  only  be  measured  and  ad 
judged,  in  individual  cases,  according  to  the  rules  of 
the  Church,  as  plainly  provided.  If  freedom  of  pri 
vate  judgment  has  most  asserted  itself  in  the  Presbyte 
rian  family,  to  the  extent  of  schism,  for  what  has 
seemed  the  truth's  sake,  yet  who  shall  deny  that  the 
truth  of  God  has  its  most  noble  and  Biblical  definition 
and  exposition  in  our  cherished  Westminster  formulas 
of  faith,  which  are  the  common  family  heritage  ?  And, 
what  wonder,  if  with  these  in  hand,  and  claimed 
equally  by  both,  the  distinctive  truth  they  set  forth 
should  dispose  and  draw  together  the  living  parts  as 
essentially  one  in  the  vital  doctrines  of  salvation? 
But  the  facts  and  auguries,  in  the  case,  were  inter 
preted  differently.  As  in  the  proverb  of  the  red  sky, 
it  is  a  sign  of  storm  or  of  sunshine,  according  as  it  is 
seen  at  dawn  or  at  evening;  so  the  same  facts  were 
tokens  of  conflict  or  of  concord,  according  as  they  were 
viewed. 

And  according  as  acknowledged  differences  are  max 
imized  or  minimized,  must  be  the  judgment  and  action 
in  the  case  before  us. 

At  a  time  when  Anti-Christ,  in  all  the  forms  of 
papacy  and  infidelity,  rallies  the  strongest  forces,  and 
displays  a  solid  front  against  the  Holy  Child  Jesus, 
and  His  true  Church ;  and  when  the  exigencies  of  our 
time  are  so  alarming,  it  must  be  accounted  as,  at  least, 
a  Christian  sentiment,  even  though  it  were  a  practical 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  321 

mistake,  that  these  great  bodies,  one  in  confession  of 
faith  and  form  of  government  —  one  in  their  mode  of 
organization  and  of  operation,  and  one  aforetime,  with 
a  common  ancestry  and  history  —  should  be  again  or 
ganically  one,  for  most  effective  action.  For  here,  in 
the  Divine  arithmetic,  it  is  most  plain  that  one  is 
more  and  better  than  two. 

A  brief  review  of  the  antecedents  will  prepare  us  bet 
ter  to  estimate  the  status  of  1869,  and  the  constituent 
elements  of  this  Assembly. 

There  were  mainly,  from  the  first,  four  classes  in  the 
Church  on  this  great  question  of  Eeunion.  Some  were 
in  favor  of  it,  most  positively,  and  by  all  lawf ul  means. 
Others,  a  decreasing  few,  were  as  positively  opposed  to 
it,  by  all  means,  on  the  ground  of  essential  differences 
believed  to  exist  in  doctrine  and  order.  A  larger  num 
ber,  early  averse,  then  dubious  and  distrustful,  were,  at 
length,  desirous  of  its  accomplishment  so  soon  as  the 
constitutional  terms  could  be  carried.  And  others,  a 
few,  were  at  the  first  opposed,  and  at  length  only  ready 
to  acquiesce  in  what  was  seen  to  be  inevitable,  yet  all 
the  while  insisting  on  the  safest  and  best  terms. 

In  1866,  both  Assemblies  having  met  in  the  same 
city  of  St.  Louis,  the  first  formal  initiative  was  taken  by 
the  Old  School  body.  They  proposed  the  naked  basis 
of  "  our  common  standards"  and  expressed  "  an  earnest 
desire  for  the  Reunion,  at  the  earliest  time  consistent 
with  agreement  in  doctrine,  order,  and  polity,  and  the 
prevalence  of  mutual  confidence  and  love,  which  are 
necessary  to  a  happy  union,  and  to  the  permanent 
peace  and  prosperity  of  the  €hurch." 
21 


322  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

The  other  branch  emphasized  the  terms,  "  on  the  com 
mon  standards,  received  in  a  common  spirit" 

A  Committee  of  fifteen,  from  each  Assembly,  was 
then  appointed,  to  draw  up  a  plan  of  Reunion,  and 
report  to  the  Assemblies  of  1867.  This  was  accord 
ingly  done. 

But  there  was  not  yet  the  " mutual  confidence" 
There  were  many  and  deep  misgivings  as  to  the  sense  in 
which  the  two  branches  understood  and  held  the  "  Com 
mon  Standards."  An  attempt  was,  therefore,  made  by 
the  Joint  Committee  to  fix  the  sense,  so  as  to  forbid  any 
misconception  or  divergence.  This  restrictive  move 
ment  was  from  the  Old  School  side  of  the  Committee. 
And,  according  to  the  very  unanimous  Report,  it  was 
expressly  provided  in  the  Doctrinal  article  of  the  Basis 
that  the  sense  in  which  the  Confession  was  to  be  re 
ceived,  should  be  "its  fair,  historical  sense,  as  it  is  ac 
cepted  by  the  tiuo  bodies  in  opposition  to  Antinomian- 
ism  and  Fatalism  on  one  hand,  and  to  Arminianism 
and  Pelagianism  on  the  otlier" 

Besides  the  Doctrinal  Article,  there  were  thirteen 
items  pertaining  to  various  matters  of  church  polity. 
These  were  proposed  as  points  for  agreement.  And  as 
to  certain  of  these,  there  was  much  division  of  sentiment 
in  both  bodies. 

The  Report  was,  however,  adopted  in  the  New  School 
Assembly  with  entire  unanimity.  But  in  the  Old  School 
body,  a  Minority  Report  of  a  Special  Committee  to 
whom  it  was  referred,  asked  the  Assembly  to  instruct 
the  Joint  Committee  in  three  several  particulars,  viz., 
"To  obtain,  (1.)  A  more  definite  statement  of  the  Doc 
trinal  Basis.  (2.)  The  exclusion  of  'Committee-men' 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  323 

from  the  Church  Courts.  And  (3.)  The  distinct  and 
formal  recognition  of  the  right  and  obligation  of  every 
Presbytery  to  be  satisfied  as  to  the  soundness  of  every 
minister  it  receives."  This  Minority  Report  obtained 
(64)  sixty-four  votes,  against  (152)  one  hundred  and 
fifty-two.  But  the  Assembly  "  declined  to  express  either 
approbation  or  disapprobation  of  the  plan  in  detail," 
and  meanwhile  "  recognized  with  satisfaction  the  finger 
of  God  as  pointing  towards  an  early  and  cordial  Reunion 
of  the  two  sister  Churches  now  so  long  separated." 

This  Basis,  though  not  formerly  overtured  to  the  Pres 
byteries,  was  sent  down  for  discussion  and  free  expres 
sion.  Already  it  was  pronounced  loose  in  terms,  and 
capable  of  very  different  constructions,  according  as  it 
was  read  with,  or  without,  a  comma  after  the  word 
"  bodies"  And  when  it  was  discussed  and  voted  upon 
in  the  Old  School  Presbyteries,  it  was  very  generally 
disapproved,  as  more  indefinite  by  far  than  the  Stan 
dards  which  it  would  seek  to  define.  The  question  was 
sharply  discussed,  especially  by  Dr.  C.  Hodge  and  Dr. 
H.  B.  Smith,  in  their  respective  Reviews  for  the  year, 
the  former  charging  upon  the  New  School  a  loose  sub 
scription  to  the  Standards  —  the  latter  positively  deny 
ing  this,  and  challenging  the  proof,  asserting,  "  that  the 
sense  in  which  the  New  School  receive  and  adopt  the 
Confession  is  precisely  the  same  with  that  claimed  by 
Dr.  Hodge  as  the  true  sense,  viz.,  the  Calvinistic  or 
Reformed." 

Professor  Smith,  in  1864,  as  retiring  Moderator  of  his 
Assembly  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  had  suggested,  as  the  terms 
of  Reunion,  "  the  simple  Basis  of  the  Standards,  which 
we  equally  accept  [he  said]  without  private  interpre- 


324  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

tation,  interpreted  in  their  legitimate  and  historic  sense, 
in  the  spirit  of  the  Adopting  Act,  and  as  containing 
the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures." 

In  November,  of  1867,  "  the  Presbyterian  National 
Union  Convention  "  assembled  in  Philadelphia.  In  the 
course  of  their  proceedings,  Professor  Smith  moved 
this  defining  clause  in  the  platform  for  the  union  of  all 
Presbyterians,  vis. :  "  It  being  understood  that  this  Con 
fession  is  received  in  its  proper  historical,  that  is,  the 
Calvinistic  or  Reformed  sense."  This  was  found  to  be 
eminently  satisfactory  to  the  most  conservative  of  the 
delegates  present.  The  Joint  Committee,  accordingly, 
in  their  Report  to  the  Assemblies  of  18G8,  modified  the 
Doctrinal  Article  of  the  Basis,  incorporating  the  Smith 
clause,  instead  of  the  defining  clause  of  the  previous 
Report,  and  after  much  discussion  adding  what  is  known 
as  "  the  Gurley  amendment"  viz.,  "  It  is  also  understood 
that  various  methods  of  viewing,  stating,  explaining,  and 
illustrating  the  doctrines  of  the  Confession,  which  do 
not  impair  the  integrity  of  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic 
system,  are  to  be  freely  allowed  in  the  United  Church, 
as  they  have  hitherto  been  allowed  in  the  separate 
churches." 

There  seemed  here,  in  the  Doctrinal  Article,  to  be  a 
balancing  of  cautious  clauses,  which  savored  of  Ecclesi 
astical  diplomacy. 

The  Gurley  clause,  as  was  well  understood,  had  been 
interposed  at  a  serious  exigency  of  the  negotiations,  as 
an  offset  to  the  former  defining  clause.  In  itself,  it 
would  appear  to  be  quite  legitimate,  as  calling  for  no  lib 
erty  beyond  what  was  "  consistent  with  the  integrity  of 
the  Calvinistic  system."  Yet  the  proviso  for  such  an 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  325 

allowance  in  the  United  Church,  as  had  been  hitherto 
used  in  the  separate  churches,  as  to  variety  of  viewing, 
stating,  etc.,  was  open  to  weighty  objection,  as  seeming 
to  contradict  itself,  and  to  imply  already  some  misun 
derstanding,  and  to  threaten  most  serious  altercation  in 
the  future.  There  were  also  certain  modifications  of 
the  subordinate  items.  Besides,  the  famous  Tenth  Arti 
cle  was  added,  as  called  for  by  the  Minority  Eeport 
of  1867,  so  far  as  acknowledging  the  right  of  Presby 
teries  to  examine  ministers  coming  from  other  Presby 
teries,  but  not  making  it  a  " duty"  and  imperative,  as 
had  been  the  case  in  the  Old  School  branch. 

Hence,  though  both  of  the  Assemblies  of  1868  adopt 
ed  the  Basis,  and  sent  it  down  to  the  Presbyteries  for 
formal  action,  yet  it  was  evidently  with  great  mis 
giving  in  the  Old  School,  and  with  much  dissatisfaction 
upon  second  thought. 

It  was  earnestly  opposed  in  the  Assembly,  and  a 
weighty  minority  uttered  a  strong  protest  against  it. 
This  was  pointedly  answered  by  a  Committee,  of  which 
Professor  Shedd  was  the  Chairman.  Ground  was 
taken,  in  this  reply,  that  "  to  suppose  the  objectionable 
clause  provided  for  Arminianism  and  Pelagianism 
within  the  sphere  of  Calvinism,  was  an  absurdity  not  to 
be  named  in  such  case." 

Nevertheless,  there  was  such  dissatisfaction  in  the 
Assembly,  that  it  was  sought  to  break  the  force  of  this 
Basis,  after  it  was  passed  upon.  It  was  unanimously 
voted,  on  motion  of  Dr.  A.  G.  Hall,  as  a  measure  of 
conciliation,  "  that  this  Assembly  hereby  declare  it  to  be 
distinctly  understood  that  the  Doctrinal  Article  of  the 
Basis,  already  adopted,  is  not  to  be  interpreted  as  giv- 


326  PEESBYTERIAN    EEUNION. 

ing  license  to  the  propagation  of  doctrines  which  have 
been  condemned  by  either  Assembly,  nor  to  permit  any 
Presbytery  in  the  United  Church  to  license,  or  ordain 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  any  candidate  who  main 
tains  any  form  of  doctrine  condemned  by  either  As 
sembly." 

This  action  was  immediately  telegraphed  to  the  other 
Assembly  at  Harrisburg.  Besides  this,  a  special  dele 
gation  was  sent  to  the  New  School  Assembly,  to  request 
an  alteration  of  the  Basis,  so  as  to  strike  out  both  of  the 
amending  clauses  in  the  Doctrinal  Article,  and  so  as  to 
leave  "  the  Common  Standards  pure  and  simple,"  for  the 
platform  of  doctrine.  This  action,  however,  proved  to 
be  too  late.  Though  it  was  well  received  by  those  yet 
present  at  Harrisburg,  the  house  was  too  much  thinned, 
at  this  last  moment,  to  take  formal  action  upon  it,  there 
being,  in  fact,  no  quorum  remaining.  And,  as  it  was 
only  in  the  event  of  its  adoption  by  the  Harrisburg 
Assembly  that  this  alteration  was  to  be  made  in  the 
plan,  the  result  served  merely  to  indicate  the  mind  of 
the  two  bodies  on  this  important  point. 

It  was  in  this  aspect  of  aye  and  nay,  pro  and  can,  that 
the  Assembly  of  1868  left  the  question  of  Keunion.  No 
wonder  that  the  Church  was  puzzled  to  understand  the 
exact  status.  In  such  tanglement  of  terms,  a  plan  hav 
ing  been  passed  upon,  and  sent  down,  and  then  closely 
followed  up  by  a  unanimous  caveatra&  to  the  meaning, 
and  after  that,  by  an  expressed  preference  for  an  impor 
tant  change  in  the  plan,  no  wronder  that  the  Presby 
teries  scarcely  understood  what  they  were  to  vote  upon. 

It  was  in  such  category  that  "  The  Pittsburg  Circu 
lar"  was  issued,  soon  after  the  adjournment.  It  pro- 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  327 

posed,  unofficially,  the  STANDARDS  pure  and  simple,  as 
the  Doctrinal  Basis,  leaving  the  remaining  articles  of 
agreement  to  stand  as  last  reported.  This  was  pro 
jected  by  Drs.  Paxton,  A.  A.  Hodge,  and  Jacobus.  The 
project  was  cordially  seconded  and  furthered  by  Drs. 
Allison  and  McKinny,  and  others.  This  was  meant, 
not  by  any  means  to  balk  the  Reunion  movement,  but 
to  set  up  a  banner  for  the  distracted  ranks.  It  was 
more  than  ever  manifest,  however  awkwardly  brought 
about,  that  the  Reunited  Church  could  stand  only  on 
the  naked  Confession,  and  that  the  sense  of  the  Stand 
ards  could  not  be  categorically  denned  in  such  an  instru 
ment,  without  interpolating,  in  such  restrictions  and 
qualifications,  certain  new  terms  additional  to  the  Con 
fession  itself,  which  would  need  to  be  interpreted  as 
much  as  that,  and  would  be  quite  as  liable  to  be  mis 
construed.  In  the  light  of  this  plain  history,  it  will 
appear,  how  disingenuous  is  the  assertion  that  this  was 
equivalent  to  accepting  the  Standards  "  without  a  sense" 
and  that  it  was,  in  fact,  an  utter  surrender  of  the  truth 
in  our  Confession.  The  Old  School  Presbyteries  again 
voted,  variously  but  largely,  against  the  Basis  of  the 
Joint  Committee,  at  the  same  time  expressing  their  will 
ingness  to  unite  upon  the  platform  of  the  Standards. 
The  Tenth  Article  remained  as  a  chief  difficulty  in  the 
other  branch  ;  yet  they  reported  one  hundred  and  five 
Presbyteries  for  the  Basis,  and  on]yfour  against  it,  with 
four  others  not  heard  from.  Thus  matters  were  gener 
ally  tangled.  Meanwhile  the  Old  School  Committee  on 
Reunion  had  been  disbanded.  In  this  juncture,  the  New 
School  Committee  met  in  January,  1869,  and  recom 
mended  to  their  Presbyteries  to  vote  at  their  spring  meet- 


328  PRESBYTERIAN  REUNION. 

ings  for  omitting  both  of  the  qualifying  clauses  of  the 
Doctrinal  Article,  and  also  the  entire  Tenth  Article. 

Such  informal  action,  modifying  the  Basis,  as  over- 
tured  to  the  Presbyteries,  could  only  serve  to  express  the 
mind  of  the  Church,  for  the  enlightenment  of  the  ap 
proaching  Assembly. 

And  it  was  by  this  thorough  testing  of  different 
Bases  that  the  Church  was  made  ready,  on  both  hands, 
for  the  true  and  proper  Basis  of  the  Standards. 

A  new  and  striking  phase  was  given  to  the  matter, 
closely  on  the  edge  of  the  Assemblies,  by  the  action  of 
the  Central  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  as  moved  by 
Dr.  Musgrave :  namely,  to  make  the  Basis  consist  of 
but  one  Article,  the  Doctrinal  one,  and  herein  propos 
ing  the  Standards  alone,  leaving  the  other  items  for 
adjustment  by  the  Reunited  Church. 

This  plan  was  startling,  as  being  perhaps  too  sum 
mary,  and  as  altogether  extra  hazardous. 

Yet,  on  maturer  consideration,  it  was  well  approved. 

This  same  Basis  had  been  moved  in  the  Assembly  of 
1868,  by  Dr.  Musgrave ;  but  it  had  failed  of  adoption. 
Yet  this  was  in  fact  coming  back  to  the  starting-point 
of  the  negotiations,  after  so  roundabout  a  course.  This 
was  what  was  contended  for,  and  counselled  in  The 
Princeton  Review,  after  the  Assembly  of  1868,  as  fol 
lows  : 

"We  are  willing  to  unite  upon  the  Basis  of  our  Common  Standards,  without 
explanation.  If  they  are  willing  to  take  that  ground,  well  and  good.  If  not, 
the  fault  is  theirs,  not  ours.  Let  the  rejection  of  '  the  Basis  '  be  followed  by 
a  request,  or  overture,  to  the  next  General  Assembly,  to  negotiate  a  plan  of 
Union  having  for  its  doctrinal  Basis  our  Common  Standards  pure  and  sim 
ple."  —July,  1868,  pp.  453,  472,  3. 

It  was  made  plain  as  day  that  no  new  Confession 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  329 

would  be  accepted,  nor  any  codicil  to  the  old  document, 
nor  any  well-phrased  ultimatum,  formulated  by  any 
number  of  ecclesiastical  diplomatists,  however  revered 
and  loved.  The  Church  had  already  her  well-accepted, 
time-honored  formulas,  of  which  she  is  so  justly  proud, 
for  their  strict  conformity  with  the  Word  of  God.  And 
she  asked  no  better,  and  would  not  peril  her  own  iden 
tity  by  adopting  any  other,  in  any  shape,  at  this  late 
day.  It  would  have  been  grossly  unjust  to  both  of  the 
high  negotiating  parties.  The  secret  of  such  a  recur 
rence  to  the  original  terms  must  be  sought  in  the  man 
ifested  vanity  of  all  efforts  to  change  them  with  advan 
tage,  and  in  the  further,  better  fact,  that  a  change  had 
come  over  the  Church  in  both  of  its  branches,  brino-ino; 

'  O         O 

about  more  of  the  "  mutual  confidence  "  which  was  fore 
seen  as  vitally  conditioning  the  great  problem. 

This  was  the  outlook  of  the  subject,  as  the  time  drew 
nigh  for  the  Assemblies  of  1869.  Manifestly  an  influ 
ence  had  gone  forth  meanwhile,  like  the  soft  spring-tide, 
melting  the  mountains  of  ice,  and  dissolving  the  bands 
of  frozen  rivers  as  a  thousand  fires  of  our  kindling 

O 

could  never  have  done.  There  could  be  no  doubt  of 
the  fact,  that  Union  upon  the  basis  of  the  Standards 
was  now  the  joint  plan  and  purpose,  and  that  each 
party  was  ready  to  challenge  the  other  by  the  same  ori 
ginal  formulas  of  the  Presbyterian  ordination ;  an  ex  an- 
imo  reception,  and  embrace  of  the  Confession.  All  ob 
jection  seemed  thus  to  be  cut  off,  except  in  few  cases, 
on  the  ground*  of  alleged  diversities  not  covered  by  such 
positive  terms,  or  on  the  ground  of  inexpediency  upon 
other  considerations. 

It  was  in  this  condition  of  things  that  the  two  As- 


330  PKESBYTEKIAN    KEUKION. 

semblies  convened  in  New  York  city,  on  the  20th  of 
May,  A.  D.  1869. 

Strangely  enough,  on  the  first  day  of  the  session,  de 
vout  men  carried  to  the  burial  the  Rev.  Absalom  Pe 
ters,  D.D.,  whose  name  had  been  most  prominent  in  con 
nection  with  the  disruption,  as  the  Secretary  of  "  The 
American  Home  Missionary  Society." 

The  two  Assemblies  had  met  here  in  the  great  Me 
tropolis,  in  1856.  But  no  high  public  interest  was 
then  excited.  There  was  then,  as  yet,  no  drawing  to 
gether  of  the  parts,  but  rather  a  manifest  distance. 
An  overture  was  made  by  the  New  School  Assembly  to 
the  Old  School  for  formal  correspondence ;  but  it  was 
declined.  The  venerable  and  excellent  Dr.  Phillips 
said  on  the  floor  of  the  house,  "  How  can  we  enter  into 
correspondence  with  a  body  which  claims  to  be  our 
selves  ? "  The  hour  had  not  yet  come.  But  now  the 
city  was  moved.  Entertainers  and  outsiders  were  astir. 
The  wires  were  at  work  to  convey  despatches  to  all 
quarters  of  the  world.  The  leading  daily  journals,  as 
the  Herald,  and  the  Tribune,  and  Times,,  and  Post,  were 
largely  given  up  to  the  proceedings. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  this  Assembly  of  the  Old  School 
branch  was  the  largest  ever  convened  in  the  entire  his 
tory  of  the  Church,  saving  only  that  of  1832,  at  Phila 
delphia,  which  had  seven  more  members  enrolled,  and 
excepting  also  the  Assemblies  of  1859  and  1860,  pend 
ing  the  separation  of  the  Southern  Church.  And  in 
the  other  branch,  the  numbers  were  the  largest  since 
the  disruption  in  1837.  And,  what  is  still  more  re 
markable,  the  latter  body  lacked  now  only  thirty-six  of 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  331 

being  equal  in  numbers  to  the  former,  indicating  the 
wonderful  increase  since  the  disruption. 

A  Joint  Assembly  would  have  numbered  five  hun 
dred  and  fifty-five.     And  it  was   currently  remarked 
«/  t/  «/  t/  •> 

that  a  larger  amount  of  ripe  experience,  of  practical 
wisdom,  and  of  sound,  Scriptural  knowledge,  together 
with  earnest  loyalty  to  the  Church,  and  devout  faith 
and  piety,  had  not  at  any  time  been  gathered  in  either 
Assembly.  Civilians  of  eminent  rank  were  among 
the  members  of  both  bodies.  It  is  further  notable  that 
among  the  Old  School  commissioners  there  was  not  one 

o 

of  the  original  Reunion  Committee  of  Fifteen,  whilst  on 
the  New  School  floor  there  were  five  of  the  leading  cler 
ical  members  of  that  Committee,  and  one  of  the  most 
eminent  jurists. 

That  Historic  Church,  "  THE  OLD  BKICK,"  whose  his 
toric  pastor,  the  venerable  and  beloved  Gardiner  Spring, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  added 
interest  to  the  sittings  of  the  Old  School  branch.  It 
was  the  Church  whose  pastor,  the  Rev.  John  Rodgers, 
D.D.,  was  the  Moderator  of  the  first  General  Assembly, 
fourscore  years  ago,  when  there  were  thirty-four  mem 
bers  in  all ;  and  his  last  official  act  was  to  lay  his  hands, 
in  ordination,  upon  the  head  of  Dr.  Spring,  in  1810,  the 
latter  now  the  senior  pastor  of  the  same  Church,  and  a 
grand  connecting  link  with  the  first  General  Assembly 
of  the  Church  in  this  land. 

Only  some  three  or  four  blocks  from  this  stately  cor 
ner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Thirty-seventh  street,  sat  the 
other  Assembly  (N.  S.),  in  "the  Church  of  the  Cove 
nant,"  corner  of  Thirty-fifth  street  and  Park  Avenue. 

The  pleasant  contiguity  was  not  more  suggestive  of 


332  PKESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

cordial  interchange  than  it  was  found  to  be  answerable 
to  the  friendly  relations  now  existing. 

It  was,  every  way,  a  most  happy  conception,  that  the 
formal  sittings  were  prefaced  by  a  Joint  Prayer-Meet 
ing  of  members  and  others,  at  the  Brick  Church,  on  the 
evening  preceding.  The  weather  was  ill-favored,  with 
rain  and  chill,  but  a  large  concourse  was  present.  The 
retiring  Moderators,  Drs.  Steams  and  Musgrave,  pre 
sided,  and,  after  introductory  services,  the  meeting  was 
thrown  open  for  voluntary  exercises  of  prayer,  exhorta 
tion,  and  praise. 

It  had  been  advised,  as  a  prudential  measure,  that  the 
exciting  topic  of  Reunion,  in  its  delicate  bearings  at 
the  moment,  should  not  be  introduced.  But  it  was  all 
in  vain  to  set  up  barriers  against  the  overflowing 
thought  and  emotion.  You  could  as  well  shut  out  the 
morning  from  the  day,  or  the  spring-tide  from  the  fields 
and  gardens.  The  first  prayer  referred  to  it,  and  the  first 
speaker  plainly  broached  it,  as  the  topic  of  the  hour.  Ir 
resistibly,  every  exercise  savored  of  this  Reunion  senti 
ment,  and  it  was  seen  to  be  the  one  great  thought  and 
feeling  of  the  praying  Assembly.  It  was,  however,  re 
marked  that  the  brethren  of  the  New  School  were  more 
retiring  and  less  pronounced  on  that  occasion  than  could 
have  been  expected.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was 
manifest  that  a  very  great  change  had  come  over  many 
on  both  sides,  who  had,  up  to  this  time,  been  regarded 
as  opposed  or  reluctant.  It  was  a  first  coming  together 
of  the  brethren  long  time  distant,  and  now  met  at  the 
mercy-seat.  The  ointment  bewrayed  itself.  The  at 
mosphere  was  redolent  of  it.  Families  of  the  city  who 
had  sought  the  spot  as  one  of  promised  privilege,  shared 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  333 

in  the  high  enthusiasm.  The  advent  of  long-expected 
good  was  sung  to  the  watching  shepherds  there,  that 
evening,  by  a  chorus  of  the  heavenly  host.  Earnest 
hearts  unburdened  themselves  before  God,  pleading  for 
the  consummation.  No  injudicious  word  was  spoken, 
and  it  was  plain  to  all  that  the  key-note  was  struck, 
and  a  kind  of  Divine  intimation  was  given  in  the  tone 
of  the  meeting  that  the  time  had  come  for  brethren 
whose  souls  flowed  together  so  in  prayer  and  praise  and 
mutual  address,  to  band  together  again  as  one  in  the  grand 
old  Church  of  their  fathers. 

It  soon  became  manifest,  however,  that  there  was  a 
shyness  on  the  part  of  the  New  School  branch,  —  that 
there  was  even,  in  some  minds,  a  feeling  bordering  upon 
irritation,  at  the  equivocal  negotiations  thus  far,  especially 
at  the  rejection  of  the  Basis  by  the  Old  School  Presbyte 
ries,  even  after  its  adoption  by  both  Assemblies,  and  fur 
ther  still,  at  the  seeming  instability  of  the  Assembly  itself, 
proposing  alteration  of  the  Basis,  even  after  their 
own  formal  adoption  of  it,  and  at  the  same  sitting. 
Leading  members  of  the  New  School  were  free  to  say  that 
they  were  tired  of  such  fruitless  overtures,  —  that  they 
wished  the  matter  brought  to  a  prompt  decision,  that 
further  delay  and  doubt  would  be  damaging  to  all  the 
interests  of  the  Church,  and  that,  for  themselves,  they 
felt  aggrieved  at  the  divers  misadventures,  and  could 
only  now,  in  all  good  faith,  await  the  definite  action  of 
the  other  branch.  There  was  a  chafing  of  spirit,  easily 
accounted  for,  which  seemed,  at  the  first,  to  imperil  the 
good  result. 

"  Not  a  few  "  (says  Dr.  Stearns)  "  began  to  feel  that 
they  had  been  trifled  with,  and  the  prospect  of  Ke- 


334  PRESBYTERIAN    REU1STION. 

union  seemed  to  many,  at  that  moment,  to  be  very 
unpromising." 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  not  a  few,  of  both 
'branches,  who  were  only  debating  whether  the  Reunion 
could  not  be  consummated  at  this  sitting,  and  without  any 
further  delay.  At  the  opening  exercises  in  the  Brick 
Church,  when  Dr.  Musgrave  took  his  seat  in  the  pulpit, 
the  venerable  Dr.  Spring,  sitting  beside  him,  suggested 
the  propriety,  as  the  first  business,  of  "  notifying  the  oilier 
branch  of  our  readiness  to  consummate  the  Reunion 
immediately.'1''  Dr.  Musgrave  replied  that  he  had  thought 
much  of  that  measure,  and  would  be  quite  agreed,  ex 
cept  that  there  were  over  thirty  Presbyteries  of  our 
branch  who  had  protested  beforehand  against  any  deci 
sion  being  reached  without  first  overturing  the  terms 
to  the  Presbyteries  for  their  action.  And  when  this 
majestic  and  veteran  pastor,  the  Metropolitan  Patriarch, 
then  rose  in  prayer,  he  uttered  such  exalted  petitions, 
TO,  such  glowing  and  godly  words,  as  even  he,  perhaps, 
had  never  excelled. 

The  day  "was  a  sunshine  after  the  rain.  The  noble 
sanctuary  was  crowded.  The  opening  sermon  in  this 
Assembly  did  not  touch  the  topic  of  Reunion,  albeit  it 
was  well  known  that  there  were  members  present 
whose  minds  were  not  quite  clear  as  yet,  and  who  might 
need  some  argument  or  persuasion.  But  the  retiring 
Moderator,  with  all  his  earnest  zeal  for  the  measure, 
"determined  not  to  know  anything  among  them  save  Jesus 
Christ  and  Him  crucified."  The  discourse  was  a  massive 
and  masterly  exposition  of  the  Gospel  Faith,  in  its  rela 
tion  to  the  great  salvation.  The  passage  was  Mark  xvi. 
16  :  "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved, 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  335 

etc."  Such  clear,  convincing  exhibition  of  fundamental 
truth  was,  in  itself,  a  proof  of  Christian  unity,  and  a 
plea  for  Christian  Union,  amongst  those  of  "  like  precious 
faith." 

The  sermon  at  the  opening  of  the  other  Assembly 
grasped  the  great  theme,  and  in  a  discourse  of  an  hour 
and  twenty  minutes,  elucidated  the  subject  of  Christian 
Union.  The  text  was  from  the  intercessory  prayer  of 
our  Lord :  "  That  they  all  may  be  one"  With  sound 
logic  and  luminous  illustration,  the  preacher  enforced 
the  importance  of  Presbyterian  Union  under  such  heads 
as  these :  "  The  demand  for  united  effort."  "  Induce 
ments  to  Reunion."  "The  obstacles  not  insuperable." 
"The  desire  for  Reunion."  "Reunion  probable,"  and 
"  Unity  of  spirit." 

Both  these  sermons,  so  strikingly  different,  and  yet, 
in  reality,  so  much  to  the  same  effect,  had  their  happy 
influence  in  both  Assemblies.  The  one  Gospel  provision 
and  the  oneness  of  Gospel  effort  was  the  united  theme, 
looking  to  the  Reunion.  Said  Dr.  Stearns : 

I  say,  if  we  were  only  united,  —  and  why  should  we  not  be  united  ?  —  what 
possible  reason  could  a  candid  man,  looking  on  and  observing  the  ways  of 
these  two  main  Branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  see  or  devise  why  they 
should  stand  apart  or  claim  to  be  distinguished  ?  They  have  the  same  Con 
fession  of  Faith ;  not  a  word,  a  letter,  or  a  point,  either  in  the  confession, 
properly  so-called,  or  the  Catechisms  that  repeat  and  expound  it,  which  is 
not  exactly  the  same.  And  to  this  they  have  both  held  fast  during  the  thirty- 
one  years  of  their  separation.  They  have  precisely  the  same  Form  of  Govern 
ment,  Book  of  Discipline,  and  Directory  for  Worship,  the  same  order  of 
exercises,  the  same  method  of  procedure,  the  same  objects  of  Christian  benefi 
cence,  and  the  same  style  and  stamp  of  piety  and  action.  And  they  both 
claim  to  bear  precisely  the  same  name.  Where,  in  the  whole  history  of  the 
Church,  was  there  ever  exhibited  such  a  spectacle  ?  Two  bodies  of 
Christian  men  who  could  find  nothing  tangible,  nothing  by  which  the  eye 
or  ear  of  a  passer-by  would  be  able  to  distinguish  them,  and  yet  unable  to  go 
together? 


336  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 


THE  OBSTACLES  NOT  INSUPERABLE. 

But  it  is  said  we  are  very  jealous  about  the  doctrines.  Well,  are  we  not  all 
jealous  about  them  ?  If  not,  why  have  we  kept  the  old  Confession  of  Faith  ? 
Does  not  that  state  them  distinctly  ?  Is  there  a  man  among  us  who  would 
exchange  it  for  another  system,  or  allow  its  proper  integrity,  as  a  system  of 
doctrine,  to  be  impaired  ? 

But  it  is  said,  on  the  other  hand,  we  want  liberty,  both  of  thought  and  ex 
pression.  What  liberty  ?  Liberty  to  subscribe  one  thing  and  believe  another  ? 
Liberty  to  think  and  speak  contrary  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?  None  of  us 
would  say  that.  Do  we  then  require  other  or  greater  liberty  than  that  se 
cured  to  us  by  the  words  of  our  Standards  ?  They  require  us  to  maintain  the 
unrivalled  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures,  and  to  receive  them  as  the  only  infal 
lible  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Presbyterianism  has  made  provision  for  an 
ever-fresh  resort  to  that  fountain  of  truth.  It  does  not  require  us  to  receive 
the  Confession  of  Faith  as  infallible.  It  does  not  tie  us  up  to  those  precise 
words  and  forms  of  expression ;  it  does  not  require  us  to  subscribe  to  every 
proposition  contained  in  it,  but  only  to  receive  it  as  containing,  according  to 
its  true  intents  and  original  meaning,  the  system  of  doctrines  taught  in  the 
Scriptures.  There  is  no  dispute  now  between  the  two  parties  (whatever 
there  may  have  been  once),  in  regard  to  that  matter.  True,  it  would  be  hard 
to  find  in  the  Confession  any  other  than  a  pretty  strong  Calvinism  ;  but  Cal 
vinism  is  not  that  iron  thing  which  some  have  supposed  it.  None  of  us  takes 
it  as  such ;  none  of  us  preaches  it  as  such.  We  mean  to  have  all  reasonable 
liberty.  But,  in  the  union  or  out  of  it,  we  mean  to  maintain  and  teach  the 
doctrines  of  the  Confession. 

The  Assemblies  were  then  formally  organized.  The 
election,  in  the  Old  School  body,  fell  upon  the  Rev.  Me- 
lancthon  "W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Biblical 
Literature  and  Exegetical  Theology  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Allegheny,  Pa.  Dr.  Jacobus's  senior  col 
league,  the  Rev.  David  Elliott,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was 
Moderator  of  the  Assembly  at  the  Disruption  in  1837. 
He  was  professor  of  Didactic  Theology  at  that  time, 
and  still  lives,  to  magnify  his  office,  and  to  rejoice  in 
the  Reunion.  It  was  jocosely  remarked,  with  allusion 
to  the  chairs,  that  Dogmatic  Theology  had  presided  at 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869. 

the  separation,  while  it  was  reserved  for  Biblical  Exe 
gesis  to  preside  at  the  Reunion. 

In  the  New  School  body  the  choice  fell  upon  the  Rev. 
Philemon  H.  Fowler,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Presby 
terian  Church  at  Utica,  New  York. 

The  Moderators  had  been  fellow-students  and  friends 
in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  at  the  time  of 
the  disruption.  This  was  accepted  as  a  Providential 
bond,  and  an  omen  of  cordial  relations. 

The  first  formal  business  of  the  Old  School  Assembly 
was  the  motion  of  Dr.  Musgrave  for  a  "  Committee  of 
Conference  on  Reunion  "-  —to  whom  all  matters  on  the 
subject  should  be  referred.  And  the  same  was  likewise 
moved  in  the  other  Assembly,  on  the  hearing  of  this 
fact,  and  without  waiting  for  the  formal  notification. 
In  the  former  house,  the  Moderator  appointed  a  strong 
Committee,  who,  though  entirely  new  in  this  joint  offi 
cial  work,  fairly  represented  the  hitherto  diverse  views 
of  the  body  on  the  subject.  And,  in  the  other  Assem 
bly,  there  were  able  representative  men,  some  of  former 
joint  committees,  fully  posted  in  all  the  points  of  dis 
pute  through  all  the  history. 

The  Committee  were  CO.  S.)  - 

The  Rev.  Dr.  G.  W.  Musgrave,  of  Philadelphia. 
"       Dr.  A.  G.  Hall,  of  Rochester,  N.  T. 
"        Dr.  L.  H.  Atwater,  of  Princeton. 
"        Dr.  Willis  Lord,  of  Chicago. 
"        Dr.  Henry  R.  Wilson,  of  St.  Louis. 

And  Ruling  Elders  — 

Hon.  C.  D.  Drake. 
"     Win.  M.  Francis. 
Robert  Carter,  Esq. 
J.  C.  Grier,  Esq. 
Henry  Day,  Esq. 


PEESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 


And  (K  S.) 


The  Kev.  Dr.  Wm.  Adams,  of  New  York 

"        Dr.  J.  F.  Stearns,  of  Newark,  N.  J. 
"        Dr.  K.  W.  Patterson,  of  Chicago. 
"        Dr.  S.  W.  Fisher,  of  Utica. 
"        Dr.  Jas.  B.  Shaw,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

And  Ruling  Elders — 

o 

Hon.  Wm.  Strong. 
"     Daniel  Haines. 
"     Wm.  E.  Dodge. 
J.  S.  Farrand,  Esq. 
Jno.  L.  Knight,  Esq. 

Here  was  a  strong  force  of  men  every  way  well  fur 
nished  for  their  responsible  work. 

These  Committees  at  once  addressed  themselves  earn 
estly  to  the  task,  both  separately  and  jointly,  and  the 
members  were  scarcely  to  be  seen  in  the  Assemblies 
during  the  first  week  of  the  sittings. 

Deep  interest  was  felt,  on  all  hands,  touching  the  ne 
gotiations  going  forward  in  the  Committee-rooms ;  and 
it  was  plain  that  every  phase  of  the  question  was  can 
vassed,  without  and  within,  with  a  view,  if  possible,  to 
agree  upon  a  plan  that  should  be  mutually  satisfactory. 
There  were  significant  hints,  here  and  there,  of  sharp 
discussion.  But  it  soon  came  to  be  known  that  the 
respective  Committees  were  each  a  unit,  and  that 
between  them  there  was  only  the  most  manly,  cour 
teous,  and  Christian  debate. 

A  lady  of  New  York,  well  reported  of  for  good 
works,  and  known  as  enthusiastic  for  the  Reunion,  met 
Drs.  M.  and  S.  at  the  corner  of  the  Brick  Church,  and 
gracefully  congratulated  the  former  upon  the  happy 
prospect.  He  replied,  to  her  dismay,  "Madam,  I 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  339 

fear  that  it  will  fail,  after  all,  and  that  all  our  efforts 
will  come  to  nought,  if  the  position  taken  by  my 
brother  here  is  to  be  maintained."  They  went  into 
Committee  again,  and  found  that  they  had  simply  mis 
understood  each  other,  and  were  soon  heartily  agreed. 

Already,  on  the  first  evening  of  the  Session,  accord 
ing  to  notice  given  in  the  Assembly,  the  Ruling  Elders 
of  the  New  School  body  were  convened  for  prayer. 
They  were  understood  to  be  earnest  for  the  reuniting, 
and  they  made  this  sentiment  most  manifest  in  their  peti 
tions  at  the  very  threshold  of  the  work.  And  so,  also, 
they  made  their  influence  to  be  widely  felt  in  this  As 
sembly.  The  power  of  prayer  was  devoutly  recognized 
amidst  such  grave  responsibilities.  Men  felt  that  it 
was  a  case  in  which  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church 
must  be  deeply  interested,  and  should  be  humbly  in 
voked, —  that  God,  as  in  the  case  of  Jacob  and  Esau, 
must  be  recognized  as  controlling  the  minds  of  men ; 
and  that  there,  at  the  brook  of  Jabbok,  it  was  fitting  to 
pass  the  evening  and  the  night,  if  need  be,  to  pray  that 
the  meeting  of  the  alienated  brothers  might  be  in 
peace  —  little  dreaming  how,  in  the  morning,  they 
would  fall  on  each  other's  neck,  with  tears  and  kisses, 
and  start  along  their  way  together,  careful  for  each 
other's  comfort  and  anxious  for  sparing  the  flock. 

On  the  Sabbath  there  was  a  general  interchange  of 
pulpit  ministrations  between  the  two  branches,  giving 
pleasant  presage  of  the  Reunion. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  the  Sessions,  Monday,  a  joint 
prayer-meeting  was  held  at  8£  to  9^  A.  jr.,  in  the  Brick 
Church.  The  Moderator,  Dr.  Jacobus,  presided,  assisted 
by  his  brother  Moderator,  Dr.  Fowler.  The  house  was 


340  PEESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

filled.  The  occasion  elicited  the  deepest  interest.  The 
meeting  was  aglow.  Representatives  of  both  Assem 
blies,  clerical  and  lay,  led  in  the  prayers.  The  petitions 
were  fervent.  The  oil  ran  down  upon  the  beard,  and 
went  down  to  the  skirts  of  the  garments,  and  the  per 
fume  filled  the  house.  One  of  the  religious  papers  re 
marked  of  it,  "  It  was  a  blessed  season,  never  to  be  for 
gotten  by  those  who  were  present.  At  the  close,  two 
verses  of  the  hymn  '  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name ' 
were  sung  with  a  fervor  not  often  excelled.  Brethren 
parted  with  reluctance,  as  if  unwilling  to  separate." 

On  Monday  evening,  a  grand  social  Reunion  took 

place  at  "the  Apollo  Rooms,"  Broadway.     It  was  a 

happy  conception,  admirably  planned  and  carried  out 

by  the  Rev.  Drs.  S.  I.  &  E.  D.  G.  Prime,  of  the  New 

York  Observer.     The  arrangements  were  magnificent 

o  o 

and  munificent,  altogether  worthy  of  the  jubilant  occa 
sion,  and  of  the  great  Metropolis.  Not  only  were  the 
members  of  the  two  Assemblies  thus  brought  into 
social  contact,  but  the  congregations  of  both  branches 
were  largely  represented  —  the  wives,  and  sons,  and 
daughters  added  to  the  charm  of  the  soiree.  Ministers 
and  laymen  of  other  denominations  evinced  their  inter 
est  by  t'heir  cheering  presence.  Prominent  civilians, 
from  the  city  and  from  abroad,  men  of  professional 
rank  and  of  military  and  political  renown,  gave  zest 
to ,  the  occasion.  Music  was  richly  discoursed.  Dr. 
Adams  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and  announced  the 
appropriate  introductory  of  praise,  "Blest  be  tlie  tie 
that  binds"  This  was  sung  with  a  will  by  the  im 
mense  assemblage,  variously  estimated  at  1,500  and 
2,000.  After  an  opening,  in  his  own  graceful  style, 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  341 

upon  the  word  "  RECEPTION,"  which  headed  the  cards  of 
admission — saying  that  it  was  each  receiving  the  other, 
he  alluded  to  the  nuptials  in  prospect,  and  then,  ap 
proaching  the  Moderator  of  the  Old  School  Assembly, 
and  seizing  him  by  both  hands,  he  led  him  to  the  front  of 
the  platform  for  an  impromptu  address.  Dr.  Jacobus 
responded  to  the  graceful  commitment,  and  followed  up 
Dr.  Adams's  introductory  by  an  allusion  to  Oriental 
nuptials,  in  which  the  bride  is  bargained  for  by  father 
or  brother,  and  when  the  groom  is  introduced  to  her  by 
"the  friend  of  the  bridegroom,"  on  the  nuptial  occa 
sion,  and  the  bride  is  then  perhaps  for  the  first  time 
unveiled  to  his  view,  he  is  expected  to  make  loud  dem 
onstration  of  joy;  and  "the  friend  of  the  bridegroom, 
who  standeth  and  heareth  him,  rejoiceth  greatly  because 
of  the  bridegroom's  voice."  Here  it  was  the  Elder 
Brother  who  had  bespoken  the  Bride,  and  had  made  the 
contract,  and  we  could  all  rejoice. 

This  was  followed  by  Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  and  by 
the  Moderator  (New  School),  Dr.  Fowler,  in  words  of 
brief  acknowledgment,  also  by  Dr.  Ormiston,  of  Canada, 
and  by  the  venerable  Dr.  Samuel  Hanson  Cox. 

The  buzz  of  a  score  of  hundreds  of  voices  over 
whelmed  the  loudest  efforts  of  the  platform  beyond  the 
circuit  of  a  few  feet,  till  the  speeches  and  music  gave  way 
for  the  banquet-room.  Here  was,  indeed,  a  rich  display 
of  the  elegant  hospitality  of  New  York  Christians. 
The  highest  credit  is  due  to  the  generous  entertainers, 
"  and  to  those  who,  by  dint  of  indefatigable  industry, 
wrought  out  such  a  splendid  success.  It  was,  in  effect, 
Social  Reunion  pleading  for  the  Ecclesiastical  Reunion 
of  Presbyterians.  So  many  old  friends  came  pleasantly 


342  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

together — ministers  and  members,  Old  and  New — that 
the  occasion  formed,  altogether,  a  most  significant  index 
and  appropriate  prelude  to  the  higher  Reunion  of  the 
week. 

Already,  during  the  day,  there  had  been  a  formal 
reception,  in  the  New  School  Assembly,  of  the  Delegates 
from  the  other  branch,  appointed  the  preceding  year. 
The  hour  was  anticipated  with  great  interest  as  being  a 
possible  foretaste  of  the  better  things  to  come.  The 
house  was  thronged  with  eager  listeners,  deeply  sympa 
thizing  in  whatever  tended  to  the  great  result. 

The  venerable  C.  C.  Beatty,  D.D.,  first  addressed  the 
Assembly.  He  adverted  to  the  opening  of  this  corre 
spondence,  in  1862,  when  he  presided  as  Moderator. 
The  address  was  an  elaborate  and  earnest  exposition  of 
the  great  doctrines  of  Unity  and  Liberty,  defining  the 
power  of  the  Church  to  set  a  guard  upon  abuses  of 
liberty,  and  a  check  upon  such  diversities  in  doctrine  and 
practice,  as  are  not  justly  allowable.  It  was  eminently 
kind  and  sound,  and  met  a  cordial  response  from  the 
entire  body.  Dr.  Musgrave  followed,  saying  that  he 
was  glad  to  be  present  as  a  Delegate,  but  that  he  had 
rather  be  there  as  a  Commissioner :  reminding,  also, 
that  upon  his  motion,  at  the  Columbus  Assembly,  this 
correspondence  had  been  begun.  "Now,  sir,"  he  added, 
"I  can't  tolerate  error.  (Impressive  silence.)  I  dare 
not  do  it.  I  am  sworn  not  to  do  it.  There  must  be  a 
limit  to  expression  of  opinion.  Now,  I  honestly  say  to 
you,  if  I  did  not  believe — if  I  were  not  fully  convinced 
—that  there  was  no  vital  difference  between  us,  I 
would  oppose  this  Union  with  all  my  heart.  I  would, 
so  help  me,  God!  But  I  have  the  same  confidence  in 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  343 

your  body  that  I  have  in  my  own.  When  did  you  ever 
hear  of  a  man  being  tried  for  heresy  in  the  Old  School 
Church?  When,  since  1838?"  (Reiterated  laughter 
and  applause). 

He  was  followed  by  the  Hon.  Robert  McKnight,  in 
cordial  salutations.  These  were  responded  to  by  the 
Moderator,  Dr.  Fowler,  who  said,  "We  seek  only 
what  you  ask — the  Word  of  God,  and  the  liberty  of 
that  Word.  These  points  conceded,  we  are  ready  to 
consummate  the  Union  at  once." 

A  Second  Joint  Prayer-meeting  was  held  on  Wednes 
day  (the  sixth  day)  morning  in  "  the  Cliurcli  of  the 
Covenant" 

The  religious  fervor  was  in  no  wise  abated,  but 
rather  increased.  And  before  the  close,  it  was  an 
nounced  by  Dr.  Musgrave  that  the  Sub-Committee  of 
Conference  had  agreed  unanimously  upon  a  report  to 
the  Joint  Committee,  which  would  be  presented  at  half- 
past  ten  o'clock.  It  was  not  yet  known  what  was  the 
result.  But  there  was  a  feeling  abroad  that  it  could 
be  nothing  adverse  to  what  seemed  to  be  desired  by 
all. 

In  the  Old  School  Assembly,  on  this  day,  the  dele 
gates  from  Corresponding  bodies  were  received.  Dr.  W. 
J.  R.  Taylor,  from  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church,  and 
Dr.  Wm.  Ormiston,  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Canada,  were  heard  in  the  morning  :  and,  in  the  after 
noon,  Dr.  Wm.  Bruce,  from  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church.  Each  of  these  made  happy  reference  to  the 
Reunion  as  an  event  the  most  desirable,  and  as  a  move 
ment  enlisting  their  Christian  sympathy  and  that  of 
their  respective  Churches.  And  they  severally  expressed 


344  PKESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

tlie  hope  of  further  Unions  to  embrace  all  the  Presby 
terian  family  in  one. 

Immediately  following  these,  the  delegates  from  the 
New  School  body  were  received — the  Assembly  rising 
as  they  appeared  upon  the  platform.  The  house  was 
crowded.  The  galleries  were  thronged  with  deeply 
interested  spectators,  representing  the  Christian  families 
of  both  bodies,  ardently  enlisted  in  the  great  Reunion 
movement. 

Though  it  was  only  a  delegation  of  the  previous 
year,  appointed  by  the  last  Assembly,  whose  office  it 
was  now  to  convey  the  salutations  of  the  other  body, 
without  any  report  on  the  subject  of  Reunion,  yet  it 
was  seen  to  be  a  notable  step  in  the  advance,  and  it 
proved  a  golden  link  in  the  chain  of  events  bearing 
steadily  upon  the  issue. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  Adams,  Chairman,  conveyed  the 
fraternal  greetings  of  his  constituency  in  passages  of 
rare  eloquence,  and  of  genuine  Christian  courtesy,  which 
elicited  the  admiration  and  applause  of  the  large  audi 
ence.  (See  Chap.  V.) 

He  was  followed  by  Hon.  Win.  E.  Dodge,  who,  in  a 
brief  and  earnest  speech,  kept  up  the  glowing  enthusi 
asm.  To  these  the  Moderator,  Dr.  Jacobus,  responded, 
fully  reciprocating  and  emphasizing  the  courtesies  of 
the  occasion. 

This  response  is  here  inserted  as  part  of  the  history, 
showing  the  understandings  as  expressed  on  either  side. 

Rev.  Dr.  M.  "VV.  Jacobus,  Moderator,  responded  to 
the  delegates  from  the  New  School  Assembly  as 
follows : 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  345 

"  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America"  opens  her  arms  to  receive  you,  as  delegates  from  "The  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America."  We 
are  glad  to  see  you  on  this  platform  to-day.  We  have  been  wont  to  speak  of 
you  as  delicately  as  possible,  as  the  ' '  other  Branch. "  It  was  never  said 
whether  we  were  branches  of  a  tree,  or  branches  of  a  river.  But  Jesus 
Christ  spoke  a  parable  about  the  branches  when  he  said :  "I  am  the  vine,  ye 
are  the  branches. "  Blessed  be  God,  the  vine  includes  the  branches.  I  have 
known  a  tree,  just  by  being  lopped  off  at  the  top,  to  shoot  out  right  and  left, 
and  there  seemed  to  be  a  healthful,  vital  competition  between  the  branches, 
as  to  which  should  bear  the  greater  amount  of  fruit.  God's  ways  are  wonder 
ful.  There  may  have  been  some  healthful  competition  between  us,  which 
may  have  done  ourselves  and  the  world  some  service.  But  the  time  has  come 
when  this  correspondence  should  cease,  not  because  of  variance,  but  because 
of  alliance,  just  because  of  the  coincidence  and  concurrence  with  which  we 
shall  henceforth  work  together  and  walk  together  in  the  cause  of  our  blessed 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  On  the  one  hand  we  have  had  our  devotional  reunions, 
and  they  have  been  blessed  ones ;  and  on  the  other  hand  we  have  had  our 
fraternal,  social  reunion,  when  we  have  eaten  salt  together,  for  a  covenant 
of  salt.  We  have  dwelt  in  tents  together,  and  claim  a  share  of  each  other's 
heritage.  ' '  Behold  how  good  and  how  pleasant  a  thing  it  is  for  brethren  to 
dwell  together  in  unity  ;"  not  to  live  apart  in  unity,  but  to  dwell  together  in 
unity,  under  one  roof.  It  is  like  the  precious  ointment  upon  the  head,  which 
ran  down  upon  the  beard  and  went  to  the  skirts  of  the  garments ;  and  the 
beard  was  Aaron's,  and  the  garments  were  Aaron's,  and  we  are  a  royal  priest 
hood.  "  It  is  like  the  dew  of  Hermon,  like  the  dew  that  descended  upon  the 
mountains  of  Zion.  For  there  the  Lord  commanded  the  blessing,  even  life  f or- 
evermore. " 

You  spoke  the  other  night  of  nuptials  about  to  be  celebrated,  and  there 
seemed  to  be  some  little  difference  and  doubt  about  the  matter.  I  apprehend 
that  the  only  question  can  be,  which  is  to  be  married  to  the  other ;  and  it  is 
still,  I  believe,  an  open  question  whether  a  man  is  married  to  the  woman, 
or  whether  a  woman  is  married  to  the  man. 

But  this  is  of  small  moment  to  us.  The  time  has  come  when  Joseph  and 
his  brethren  must  make  a  mutual  discovery  of  themselves.  They  cannot 
refrain  themselves  to-day. 

I  remember  in  the  same  history,  when  a  pair  of  brothers,  twin  brothers, 
alienated  from  each  other  for  a  time,  came  together ;  it  was  Jacob  and  Esau. 
We  cannot  say  to-day  which  is  Jacob  and  which  is  Esau.  But  the  brothers 
had  each  his  claim  to  the  birthright.  And  we  have  each  of  us  a  claim  to  the 
birthright,  which  is  a  blessed  birthright.  We  have  the  common  standards, 
we  have  common  formulas  of  Christian  faith,  a  common  form  of  Church 
Government  and  polity,  common  memories  of  the  past,  and  common  ances- 


346  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

tral  traditions.  Such  a  heritage,  blessed  be  God,  such  a  birthright  we  own 
together. 

We  have  come  to  an  interesting  posture  in  this  state  of  things.  You 
remember  that  one  of  these  travelling  brothers  was  met  by  the  angels  of  God. 
He  called  the  name  of  the  place  of  meeting  Maluinaim.  And  then  he  sent  for 
ward  presents  to  his  estranged  brother,  whom  he  feared.  And  he  put  up  his 
prayer  to  God,  pleading  his  Covenant  —  ' '  for  with  my  staff  I  passed  over  this 
Jordan,  and  now  I  am  become  two  bands. "  And  now,  he  crosses  the  ford 
Jabbok.  We  have  come  to  this  point,  which  in  secular  phrase  is  the  crossing 
of  the  Rubicon.  And  now  there  is  wrestling  to  be  done  with  the  Covenant 
Angel  until  the  breaking  of  the  day.  Oh,  for  the  faith  and  hope  to  say  — 
"  We  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless  us."  Now  is  the  moment  when  the 
name  is  to  be  changed,  when  Jacob  is  to  be  called  Israel  —  prevailer  with  God 
and  with  man !  And  now  comes  to  pass  the  meeting  of  these  twin  brothers. 
On  the  neck  of  each  other,  what  tears  of  joy.  And  then  the  mutual  tender 
ness  and  sparing  of  each  other,  with  which  they  go  forward  on  their  journey 
homeward.  Too  much  self-confidence  will  spoil  the  matter.  Therefore,  the 
Wrestling  Angel  will  perhaps  make  the  sinew  of  his  thigh  to  shrink,  that  he 
may  go  halting  in  a  sense  of  his  dependence. 

The  General  Assembly  is  eighty  years  old  this  year  —  fourscore  years  old. 
It  is  not,  however,  with  it  as  it  is  with  the  human  frame,  that  the  strength  is 
labor  and  sorrow.  No,  but  the  labor  and  sorrow  is  the  strength.  So  it  shall 
be  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  us.  God  doesn't  lead  us  into  Canaan  by  a 
very  direct  route.  He  has  a  discipline  for  us.  We  never  saw  that,  when  a 
great  good  was  to  be  accomplished,  we  were  sent  right  into  the  promised 
land.  We  have  been  talking  these  many  years  of  a  basis,  a  platform  upon 
which  we  can  stand  together.  But  we  have  found  at  last  that  the  true  and 
proper  platform,  the  constitutional  platform  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  is 
the  platform  of  our  Standards,  pure  and  simple  ;  no  limitation,  no  qualifica 
tion,  no  explanation.  Some  speak  of  liberty.  My  dear  brethren,  we  have 
liberty,  as  your  retiring  Moderator  has  well  put  it,  not  the  liberty  to  subscribe 
one  thing  and  believe  another.  This  neither  of  us  would  ask.  But  it  is  the 
liberty  to  receive  the  truth  of  God,  and  our  appeal  will  be  still  as  ever  to 
the  vernacular  Scriptures,  and  then  to  the  originals  —  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
Scriptures.  This  is  the  safe  and  dignified  platform  upon  which  we  can  all 
stand,  as  Presbyterians,  and  must  stand.  We  can  stand  squarely  upon  this 
platform  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  we  rejoice  to-day  that  we  can  clasp 
hands,  and  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder,  still  embracing  the  doctrines  of  our 
fathers. 

I  pray  and  believe  that  the  result  of  this  will  be  that  the  people  will  come 
forward  with  their  offerings,  and  with  new  impulses,  giving  themselves  and 
their  means  to  forward  the  cause  of  the  blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  they 
see  our  banners  floating  together  in  the  breeze.  There  is  but  one  grand  ban 
ner  after  all,  borne  by  us  both,  and  we  are  one.  You  speak  of  the  Church  on 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  347 

"the  other  side."  Was  it  not  marvellous  in  the  Providence  of  God  that  this 
Reunion  Committee  had  its  Chairmen  taken  to  heaven,  first  from  your  side, 
and  then  from  our  side,  as  if  to  show  the  connections  of  the  cause  with  the 
Church  triumphant  ?  Venerated  and  beloved  men,  Brainerd  and  Krebs  —  they 
have  gone  up  and  are  set  down  together  with  Christ  in  heavenly  places :  and 
I  think  this  day  is  something  like  the  transfiguration,  when  Jesus  Christ  is 
manifestly  transfigured  before  us,  and  when  his  countenance  shines  like  light 
ning  and  his  raiment  is  white  as  snow.  And  as  those  two  men  of  the  old 
covenant,  Moses  and  Elias,  came  down  and  talked  with  him,  so  may  our  two 
brothers  look  down  upon  us  from  their  heavenly  places,  and  talk  of  this 
blessed  work  of  Christ.  We  pray  to  God  for  the  morrow's  dawn,  to  hear  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  of  Conference.  We  have  an  inkling  of  what  it  is. 

You,  Mr.  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Conference,  in  the  Providence  of 
God,  are  happily  made  the  representative  of  your  side  of  the  house  to  us  to 
day.  We  are  waiting  for  your  report.  We  are  impatient,  anxious,  longing 
for  it.  Our  Presbyterian  system  has  eminent  simplicity  for  the  most  univer 
sal  work,  a  glorious  apparatus  for  the  conquest  of  our  land  to  Jesus  Christ. 
We  have  the  locomotive  built,  and  polished,  and  oiled,  and  the  track  is  laid, 
ready  to  bear  forward  its  loads  of  precious  freight.  But  it  must  be  fired  up  ! 
and  what  we  ask  is,  that  the  fire  of  God  may  come  down  upon  us.  That  is 
what  we  ask.  And  we  shall  then  traverse  this  continent,  and  stretch  our 
arms  widely  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  rivers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
May  God  bless  you  and  keep  you  always. 

It  was  now  well  understood  that  "  the  Joint  Commit 
tee  of  Conference  "  had  unanimously  agreed  upon  a 
Report,  and  already  it  was  intimated  by  the  Speakers, 
and  by  the  Moderator,  in  his  response,  that  this  corre 
spondence  was  now  to  cease,  not  because  of  divergence, 
but  because  of  convergence  and  concordance.  The 
crowded  assemblage,  present  from  both  houses,  brim 
med  over  with  emotion.  And  the  smiles  and  tears  of 
members  and  of  spectators  indicated  plainly  their  zeal 
for  the  good  result. 

On  the  seventh  day  of  the  Assembly  (Sabbatic)  a 
Third  Joint  Prayer-meeting  having  opened  the  day  with 
fragrant  incense  of  fraternal  pleadings  at  the  mercy- 
seat,  the  Joint  Committee  of  Conference,  by  their  re- 


348  PKESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

spective  Chairmen,  presented  their  Report  at  ten,  A.  M., 
according  to  announcement  of  the  previous  day. 

The  public  interest  was  intense.  Both  houses  were 
crowded,  as  the  reading  was  going  on,  simultaneously, 
in  both.  Enthusiasm  was  added  by  the  declaration 
that  the  Report  was  unanimous.  Drs.  Musgrave  and 
Adams  explained  the  main  features  to  their  respect 
ive  houses.  The  remarks  of  the  former  we  are  able  to 
present  in  full.  (See  Appendix}.  It  was  regarded  as  a 
masterly  expose  of  the  plan,  and  a  conclusive  vindica 
tion  of  it.  At  the  close  of  this,  the  Moderator  called 
upon  Dr.  John  Hall  to  lead  the  Assembly  in  thanks 
giving  and  prayer.  From  amidst  the  packed  multitude 
in  the  aisle,  Dr.  Hall  pleaded  fervently  as  befitted  the 
occasion : 

With  one  heart  and  with  one  voice  we  glorify  thee  for  that  to  which  thou 
hast  brought  us  this  day,  for  the  progress  that  has  been  made,  for  the  encour 
agement  that  is  afforded  to  us,  for  the  unanimity  that  thou  hast  given  unto 
our  brethren ;  and  now,  Lord,  we  do  not  know  what  is  before  us.  We,  in 
our  feebleness  and  foolishness,  cannot  tell  with  confidence  what  is  the  best 
that  we  should  do ;  but,  O  Lord  God,  thou  knowest  all  things  ;  and  we  beseech 
thee  that  thou  wouldst  give  us  bountifully  of  thy  wisdom ;  clear,  we  be 
seech  thee,  our  spiritual  vision  from  all  obstructions  of  pride  and  selfishness ; 
enable  us  in  thy  light  to  see  light  clearly.  Give  to  each  of  us  singleness  of 
eye,  and  let  the  whole  body  be  filled  with  light.  Oh,  blessed  Jesus,  the  Son 
of  God,  who  hast  brought  us  to  love  thee  and  worship  thee,  into  whose  hands 
we  have  been  led  to  commit  our  souls'  salvation,  whom  we  acknowledge  as 
King  and  Head  in  the  Church ;  we  beseech  thee  that  thou  wouldst  take  this 
matter  into  thy  hand ;  leave  it  not,  we  pray  thee,  to  the  pride  or  to  the  pas 
sion  or  even  to  the  mind  of  man.  Oh,  take  into  thine  own  Almighty  hand 
this  matter,  and  if  it  be  thy  supreme  will  to  carry  this  thing  through,  we  be- 
f  eech  thee  that  it  may  be  done  in  such  wise  that  we  may  be  thoroughly  devoted 
to  it  in  heart,  spirit,  feeling,  and  happy  Christian  activity.  And  if  this  is  the 
end,  pour  out  thy  Spirit  upon  us,  upon  both  branches  of  the  Church ;  and  O, 
let  it  please  thee  to  humble  us  before  thee  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  us  to 
gether  that  we  may  be  one ;  that  we  may  be  united,  humble,  earnest,  sincere 
children  of  Christ,  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  learning  the  truth,  and  learn- 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  349 

ing  the  way  of  service  from  his  holy  lips.  Oh,  keep  us,  we  beseech  thee, 
from  looking  unduly  to  visible  resources.  We  feel  that  this  Christian  work 
that  thou  hast  given  us  to  do  in  the  land,  is  to  be  done,  not  by  might,  nor  by 
power,  but  by  thy  Holy  Spirit. 

Then  followed  deliverances  of  leading  members,  in 
both  houses,  defining  their  position ;  some  accounting 
for  their  slowness  in  accepting  the  Reunion  movement, 
and  declaring,  in  certain  instances,  their  opposition  to  it 
up  to  the  time  of  this  Assembly.  Others  vindicating 
the  spirit  and  terms  of  the  plan  throughout  —  while 
some  expressed  their  fears,  and  contended  for  certain 
understandings  as  requisite  to  secure  the  desired  har 
mony  of  working.  There  were  those,  also,  who  here 
bore  witness  to  the  orthodoxy  which  others  had  doubted, 
and  to  the  sound  instructions  given  in  the  Theological 
Seminaries  of  the  New  School  branch.  These  testi 
monies  were  outspoken  and  influential.  It  could  not 
be  wonderful  if  some  few  would. file  a  caveat,  or  serve 
a  special  notice  as  to  the  understandings  in  the  case. 
But  it  was  most  surprising  that,  among  the  various  de 
liverances,  there  was  nothing  said  but  was  most  frater 
nal,  as  between  Christian  men,  loving  the  common  cause 
and  service. 

The  venerable  patriarch,  Dr.  Spring,  objected  to  any 
delay  in  the  consummation,  and  argued  that  it  would  be 
"  flying  in  the  face  of  the  prayers  of  God's  people." 
"If  you  postpone  this  Union  anotlier  year  [said  he], 
I  sliall  probably  not  see  it,  but  shall  die  a  member  of 
a  divided  Church"  God  has  been  better  to  him  than 
this  fearful  prophecy,  and  may  he  live  yet  many  years 
to  rejoice.  Some  gave  free  expression  to  their  doubts, 
as  to  several  details  of  the  plan,  touching  the  legal  sue- 


350  PEESBYTEEIAN   KEUNION. 

cession,  etc.     These  queries  were  all  well  and  satisfac 
torily  answered. 

Dr.  Skinner,  Jr.  (O.  S.),  wished  to  know  whether 
"  the  Confession  of  Faith  "  was  to  be  understood  as  in 
cluding  "  the  Catechisms"  And  to  this  important  in 
quiry  Dr.  Atwater  replied  by  reading  from  the  Digest, 
and  showing  that  in  the  Assembly  of  1832,  before  the 
disruption,  this  question  was  settled  in  the  affirmative 
as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  in  receiving  and  adopting  the  Confession  of  Faith,  as  con 
taining  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  larger  and 
shorter  Catechisms  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines  are  included,  and 
do  constitute  an  integral  part  of  the  Standards  of  this  Church. 

And  that  so  it  stands  as  the  law,  accepted  in  both 
branches,  for  the  whole  Church. 

The  leading  feature  in  this  Report  is  that  the  Stand 
ards,  pure  and  simple,  are  made  the  Doctrinal  Basis 
without  any  explanatory  clause  whatever,  and  without 
any  other  article.  This  is  simply  falling  back  upon  the 
original  platform,  in  the  preliminary  negotiations  of 
186G:  "A  Reunion  upon  the  basis  of  the  Common 
Standards,  so  soon  as  a  mutual  confidence  would  seem 
to  justify  it."  This  "  mutual  confidence  "  was  now  ex 
pressed  in  the  preamble,  "  JEach  recognizing  the  other 
as  a  sound  and  orthodox  l>ody,  according  to  the  princi 
ples  of  the  confession  common  to  both." 

"This  clause  of  mutual  confidence  [says  Dr.  Stearns, 
in  his  Historical  Article]  was  the  only  one  which,  in  the 
reading  before  the  Old  School  Assembly,  was  greeted, 
with  a  spontaneous  applause."  We  happen  to  know 
that  when  this  clause  was  broached  in  the  Joint  Com 
mittee,  one  of  the  Old  School  members  privately  queried 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  351 

of  Dr.  Musgrave  whether  the  phraseology  would  not 
seem  to  be  quite  too  explicit  an  endorsement  of  New 
School  orthodoxy.  To  which  Dr.  Musgrave  replied,  that 
only  upon  this  explicit  statement,  that  each  so  "  recog. 
nizes  the  other  as  a  sound  and  orthodox  body,  according 
to  the  principles  of  the  Confession"  could  he  consent 
to  the  Reunion,  and  only  so  could  it  be  well  and  pro 
perly  advertised  beforehand,  that  the  United  Church 
could  never  consistently  tolerate  heresy. 

Another  special  feature  of  this  plan  is,  that  the  items 
of  readjustment  are  separated  entirely  from  the  Basis,  in 
the  form  of  mutual  understandings,  as  "  CONCURRENT 
DECLARATIONS  of  the  General  Assemblies  of  1869." 
For  this  apt  title  the  Committee  were  indebted  to  Dr. 
R.  W.  Patterson,  of  Chicago. 

It  may  be  mentioned,  as  part  of  the  inside  history  of 
the  negotiations,  that  when  the  "Joint  Sub- Committee" 
met  for  the  purpose  of  engrossing  what  had  been  passed 
upon  by  " the  Joint  Committee  of  Conference"  and  to 
prepare  the  Report  to  the  Assembly,  one  of  the  members 
(JN".  S.)  objected  to  the  insertion  of  the  words  con 
tained  in  the  preamble  to  the  Concurrent  Declarations, 
viz. :  "  Not  as  articles  of  compact,  or  covenant,  but  as, 
in  their  judgment,  proper  and  equitable  arrangements." 
He  admitted  that  the  language  f  airly  expressed  what ' 
had  been  agreed  upon,  that  the  articles  referred  to  were 
merely  recommended,  and  if  adopted  by  the  United 
Church,  might,  hereafter,  for  good  and  sufficient  reasons, 
be  modified  or  repealed.  But  he  argued  that  the  inser 
tion  of  the  words  above  referred  to  would  make  the 
impression  that  the  articles  are  ephemeral,  and  would 
have  a  tendency  to  invite  change.  There  was  force  in 


352  PEESBYTEEIAoST    REUNION. 

the  objection.  But  to  this  it  was  well  replied,  that  the 
words  ought  to  be  inserted.  1.  Because  they  fairly  ex 
press  our  mutual  good  understandings.  2.  Because,  if 
omitted,  it  might  be  hereafter  argued,  that  the  articles 
were  intended  to  be  a  compact  between  the  two  parties, 
which  could  not  be  honorably  modified  or  repealed.  3. 
Because  it  was  held  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  impor 
tant,  that  the  United  Church  should  be  left  entirely 
free  to  adapt  itself  to  any  changes  which,  in  the  future 
development  of  Providence,  might  be  deemed  either 
necessary  or  expedient.  This  difference  threatened  to 
be  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way,  even  within  reach  of 
the  goal.  At  this  very  crisis,  however,  an  eminent  lay 
man  of  the  New  School  Committee  joined  in  this  view 
of  the  case,  with  such  cogent  reasons  as  to  prove  the 
correctness  of  the  position.  Upon  re-examination  of 
the  paragraph,  the  dissent  was  revoked,  and  the  entire 
paper  was  then  adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

This  meeting  of  the  Joint  Sub-Committee  was  held 
on  the  evening  preceding  the  day  of  presenting  the  Re 
port  to  the  General  Assembly.  And  it  was  not  until 
eleven  o'clock  at  night  that  the  decisive  vote  was 
reached,  in  the  Committee  room. 

These  concurrent  items  enter  into  the  plan,  not  as  any 
part  of  the  Basis,  but  yet,  as  honorable  understandings 
at  the  time,  indicating  the  view  of  these  consorting  As 
semblies  as  to  the  proper  mode  of  adjustment,  and  hence, 
not  to  be  departed  from,  except  for  very  manifest  and 
sufficient  reasons.  It  was  seen  that  circumstances  might 
arise,  however  unanticipated,  which  might  make  it  emi 
nently  wise  and  proper  to  alter  or  repeal  some  of  these 
provisions.  Indeed,  this  very  judicious  disposal  of 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  353 

these  several  items,  which  had  formerly  been  so  many 
topics  of  debate,  facilitated  greatly  the  adoption  of  the 
Basis,  as  it  not  only  simplified  it,  but  relieved  it  from 
sundry  particulars  which  could  not  as  yet  be  so  pos 
itively  determined,  and  which  could  better  be  trans 
mitted  to  the  United  Church  for  after  settlement.  Some, 
in  both  Assemblies,  were  perhaps  not  quite  willing  to 
leave  in  this  shape,  even  with  a  jive  years'  period  of 
grace,  the  question  of  the  mixed  Churches,  our  legacy 
from  the  plan  of  Union  of  1801.  But  this  was,  on  all 
hands,  felt  to  be  a  difficult  point,  requiring  delicate  treat 
ment,  and  not  capable  of  easy  issue.  And  here  the  set 
period  was  named  with  notification  in  advance,  so  as  to 
plainly  assert  the  Constitutional  principle  of  Church 
polity,  and  to  restrict  the  divergence  within  this  nar 
row  limit. 

These  free  deliverances,  in  both  Assemblies,  had 
overpassed  the  morning  session,  and  occupied  the  en 
tire  afternoon,  leaving  only  time  for  the  vote,  before 
adjournment  for  the  day.  The  crowd  of  spectators 
waited  anxiously  upon  the  result,  —  all  the  more  as 
it  was  plainly  foretokened  by  the  respective  speakers 
what  the  decision  would  be.  The  excitement,  in  both 
houses,  rose  to  the  highest  pitch,  as  the  moment  drew 
nigh  for  the  poll.  In  the  New  School  Assembly,  there 
was  call  for  an  interval  of  silent  prayer  ;  and  then,  by 
a  rising  vote,  the  adoption  was  declared  unanimous. 
The  emotions  of  the  entire  body  were  brimming  over 
all  former  bounds.  In  the  Old  School  Assembly,  the 
vote  was  taken  by  ayes  and  nays.  On  the  negative 
part,  several  presented  their  reasons  in  detail.  One 
of  these  argued,  at  great  length,  the  heterodoxy 

23 


354  PRESBYTERIAN 


of  the  New  School  body,  adducing  excerpts  from  the 
former  writings  of  individuals,  —  some  of  them  long 
past,  —  and  citing  scattered  declarations  of  one  and 
another.  But  this  was  deemed  inconclusive,  unless  it 
could  be  shown  that  no  change  had  meanwhile  oc 
curred  with  these,  and  that  these  were  accepted  repre 
sentatives  of  the  body.  Confessedly,  there  were  cita 
tions,  also,  from  more  recent  individual  deliverances, 
well  worthy  of  attention,  which,  in  so  far,  would  indi 
cate  serious  differences  in  the  construction  of  the  Stan 
dards.  But  it  could  not  be  shown  that  the  body,  as 
such,  was  represented  by  these,  or  implicated  in  them  ; 
and  this  was  the  point  to  be  proven.  There  was  no 
formal  protest  except  of  a  solitary  layman,  and  that 
on  the  ground,  among  others,  that  the  plan  proposed 
for  organizing  the  United  Assembly,  in  1870,  would 
imperil  the  legal  succession.  This  was  "important,  if 
true."  But  it  was  not  deemed  necessary  to  formally 
answer  the  protest,  —  though  in  its  terms  highly  re 
spectful,  —  inasmuch  as,  according  to  most  eminent 
legal  counsel,  the  plan  provided  for  the  succession  of 
both  Assemblies;  while,  as  respects  the  Joint  Mod- 
eratorship,  in  the  opening  of  the  first  Reunited  Assem 
bly,  and  its  organization,  the  functions  of  Moderator 
were  so  assigned  as  to  fix  the  legal  succession,  ac 
cording  to  the  pronounced  decision  of  the  highest 
Court  in  the  Commonwealth. 

At  the  count,  the  vote  in  the  Old  School  Assembly 
stood  285  to  9  !  Of  these  negatives,  ftue  were  clerical, 
and  four  were  lay  ! 

The  news  of  the  result,  so  harmoniously  reached  in 
both  Assemblies,  was  flashed  by  the  telegraph  all  over 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  355 

the  land,  and  across  the  seas.  The  Reunion  was  virtually 
secured.  That  only  nine,  out  of  the  five  hundred  and 
sixty  enrolled  members  of  the  two  Assemblies,  were 
found  voting  in  the  negative,  was  surely  a  degree  of 
unanimity  most  marvellous,  and  quite  without  a  paral 
lel  in  the  annals  of  the  Church. 

OVERTURING  TO  THE   PRESBYTERIES. 

The  Plan  of  the  Joint  Committee  provided  for  over- 
turing  to  the  Presbyteries  the  question  of  Reunion  in 
categorical  form,  to  wit:  "Do  you  approve  of  the 
Union  of  the  two  bodies  claiming  the  name  and  rights 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  on  the  following  BASIS,  to  wit :  The  Reunion 
shall  be  effected  on  the  Doctrinal  and  Ecclesiastical 
Basis  of  our  Common  Standards.  The  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  shall  be  acknowledged 
to  be  the  inspired  Word  of  God,  and  the  only  infal 
lible  Rule  of  Faith  and  Practice.  The  Confession  of 
Faith  shall  continue  to  be  sincerely  received  and 
adopted,  as  containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and  the  Government  and 
Discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  shall  be  approved,  as  containing  the  principles 
and  rules  of  our  Polity." 

However  it  might  have  been  claimed  that  no  such 
reference  to  the  Presbyteries  was  necessary,  after  such 
explicit,  though  informal,  action  of  theirs  to  this  effect ; 
yet  it  was  eminently  wise  to  satisfy  thus  the  protest,  in 
advance,  of  over  thirty  Presbyteries  in  the  Old  School 
branch,  and  to  send  down  the  Basis  for  formal  ap 
proval. 


356  PEESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

It  was  provided  that  a.  two-thirds  vote  should  be 
sufficient,  —  not,  as  in  former  plans,  a  ihree-fourtlis 
vote,  inasmuch  as,  in  such  case,  one-fourth  of  the 
Presbyteries  in  either  branch  could  defeat  the  measure. 

And  besides,  in  this  voting,  the  delinquent  Pres 
byteries  who,  for  any  reason,  might  return  no  vote, 
must  be  counted  in  the  negative,  a  three-fourths  actual 
affirmative  being  required. 

Many  in  the  Old  School,  at  least,  who  otherwise 
would  have  dissented  from  the  plan,  were  fully  com 
mitted  to  the  verdict  of  the  Church  thus  regularly 
to  be  pronounced.  The  great  objection,  with  some, 
arose  from  the  necessary  delay  in  such  case,  when  the 
Assemblies  had  acted  now  so  harmoniously,  and  when 
all  was  so  ripe  for  consummation  on  the  spot.  But 
this  objection  was,  in  great  part,  relieved  by  the  novel 
expedient  of  adjourning  for  six  months  —  a  very  extra 
interval,  —  so  as  to  give  full  time  for  the  Presbyteries 
to  act,  and  yet  to  consummate  the  Union  by  these 
Assemblies,  and  without  the  necessity  of  postponing 
for  a  year.  This  feature  of  the  plan  was  not  seriously 
opposed,  but  rather  welcomed,  as  forestalling  appre 
hended  difficulties  of  delay,  and  conciliating  many 
who  else  would  have  opposed.  It  was,  indeed,  alto 
gether  a  most  happy  expedient,  entirely  justified  by 
the  case  in  hand,  and  securing  the  best  results.  The 
working  of  this  extra  adjournment  was  much  inquired 
into,  so  many  not  seeming  able  readily  to  apprehend  it 
as  a  simple  adjournment.  Questions  were  already 
started,  as  to  seats  that  might  possibly  be  vacated  by 
principals,  whether  they  could  be  filled  by  alternates 
already  chosen,  or  whether  new  elections  would  be 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  357 

requisite,  or  allowable,  to  provide  for  such  vacancies. 
In  the  Old  School  branch,  alternates  were  allowed,  - 
and  only  such,  —  who  had  been  already  chosen,  to  fill 
the  place  of  absent  principals.  In  the  New  School, 
newly-elected  Commissioners  were  required  in  such 
cases.  By  the  strict  construction,  the  Assembly  being 
the  same,  not  dissolved  as  usual,  but  only  adjourned 
for  six  months  as  if  for  a  day,  the  Commissioners 
must  be  elected  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly. 
Yet,  exceptionally,  the  other  method  of  supplying 
vacancies  was  also  held  to  be  admissible.  The  in 
stances  in  question  were  not  numerous  enough  to 
seriously  affect  the  identity  of  the  body  in  either 
house. 

What  remained  was  now  to  commit  the  goodly 
movement,  as  thus  far  so  harmoniously  advanced,  to 
the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  so  to  direct  and  control 
the  Presbyterial  action,  in  both  bodies,  as  to  secure 
the  best  result.  It  was  with  high  gratulation,  and 
with  special  solemnity,  that  the  Old  School  Assembly 
was  led  in  prayer  by  the  Rev.  A.  G.  Hall,  D.D.,  and 
adjourned  at  six  o'clock.  The  New  School  Assembly 
was  led  in  special  thanksgiving  by  the  Rev.  Thomas 
H.  Skinner,  Sr.,  D.D.,  and  adjourned  at  about  the  same 
hour.  Thus  ended  Thursday,  May  27th,  1869  ! 

On  the  following  morning  (Friday),  a  joint  prayer- 
meeting  of  the  two  Assemblies  was  held  for  one  hour 
in  the  Church  of  the  Covenant.  Of  course,  at  this 
advanced  stage  of  the  Reunion,  after  the  great  event 
of  the  day  preceding,  the  united  supplications  were 
most  fervent,  and  the  flowing  together  of  the  two 
bodies  was  more  manifest  than  before.  The  feeling 


358  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

of  oneness  was  no  longer  restrained ;  for,  as  concerned 
these  representatives  of  the  two  Churches,  they  had 
already,  with  scarce  an  individual  exception,  expressed 
their  wish  to  be  one.  And  even  the  few  dissenting 
brethren  joined  earnestly  in  the  public  prayer,  and 
expressed  their  strong  desire  also  for  Union. 

Delegations  from  each  Assembly  to  the  other  now 
appeared,  and  formally  announced  the  vote.  This  was 
again  the  occasion  of  pleasant  interchanges  and  respon 
ses,  with  new  assurance  of  fraternal  regard. 

The  following  letter  from  the  other  Assembly  was 
read : 

To  the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  meeting  at  the  Brick  Church,  New 

York. 

REVEREND  AND  DEAR  BROTHER. — It  gives  me  pleasure  to  inform  you,  as 
instructed  by  the  General  Assembly  meeting  at  the  Church  of  the  Covenant, 
New  York,  that  the  report  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  twenty  on  Reunion 
was,  at  the  close  of  the  Sessions  of  the  Assembly  this  afternoon,  unanimously 
adopted,  and  that  the  Hon.  William  Strong,  and  the  Rev.  William  Adams, 
D.  D. ,  were  appointed  to  communicate  this  action  to  the  venerable  Assembly 
over  which  you  preside. 

By  order  of  the  General  Assembly. 

EDWIN  F.  HATFIELD, 

Stated  Clerk. 
Church  of  the  Covenant,  May  27th,  1869. 

Judge  Strong  (of  Pa.),  from  that  Assembly,  was  then 
introduced,  and  received  with  applause.  After  giving 
verbal  notice  of  the  fact,  contained  in  the  above  letter, 
he  proceeded  to  say  that  they  had  all  yearned  for  years 
to  consummate  the  union  which  is  now  in  a  fair  way 
of  accomplishment,  a  union  of  faith,  of  sentiment,  of 
doctrine,  and  practice.  And  in  order  to  secure  these 
blessings  they  will  follow  the  recommendations  of  the 
Committee  of  Conference,  and  study  the  things  that 
make  for  peace. 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  359 

Dr.  Adams  stepped  forward,  and  paid  high  eulogy 
to  Dr.  Musgrave,  and  said  that  if  the  Old  School  had 
any  more  such  cannon,  throwing  fifteen-inch  shells,  they 
need  no  addition  to  their  numbers.  He  was  especially 
moved  on  meeting  Dr.  Musgrave,  whose  memory  he 
had  associated  with  former  strifes  and  controversies, 
but  whom  he  had  known  as  a  faithful  adherent  to  his 
own  convictions,  as  one  of  the  principal  leaders  in  the 
movement  for  Eeunion.  And  now,  for  all  of  the  Church, 
the  noble  service  is  left  to  finish  what  had  been  so 
earnestly  and  so  successfully  begun,  for  the  good  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ. 

Dr.  M.  W.  Jacobus  responded  as  follows : 

DEAR  BRETHREN. —  Every  step  in  this  matter  of  Reunion  becomes  only 
the  more  blessed  occasion  for  the  descent  upon  us  of  the  Spirit  of  the  living 
God.  How  blessed  are  even  these  interchanges  of  notification  !  Our  Com 
mittee  has  appeared  before  your  Assembly,  as  you  appear  before  us,  to  an 
nounce  this  marvellous  unanimity  that  has  prevailed  with  the  Committees  of 
Conference.  Union  and  Eeunion  are  the  order  of  the  day.  It  is  the  will  of 
God  among  us,  manifestly.  We  cannot  affirm  that  the  delegates  of  this  large 
body  have  all  been  able  to  say  aye  to  the  report  of  the  Committee.  The  ven 
erable  father  of  this  Assembly,  Dr.  Spring,  thoxight  for  a  moment  that  he  must 
say  nay.  But  it  was  only  because  he  was  more  aye  than  any  of  us.  Not  that 
he  was  opposed  to  Reunion,  but  because  he  was  opposed  to  any  postponement 
of  the  Reunion.  Others  who  have  given  in  their  nay  have  expressed  their 
reasons,  which  we  can  appreciate ;  and  considering  the  circumstances,  and 
the  larger  number  of  our  body,  the  unanimity  is  as  marvellous  and  God-in 
spired  perhaps  with  us  as  with  you.  We  bless  God  for  this  hour.  We  do 
confidently  expect,  as  we  look  forward  through  the  next  six  months,  to  hear 
all  along  through  this  broad  land,  from  the  Canadas  to  Mexico,  and  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  the  loud  and  cordial  Amen  of  Ratification.  And  in 
November  next  we  will  welcome  you  as  you  will  welcome  us,  to  our  city  of 
Pittsburg,  in  the  region  that  has  been  familiarly  called  the  "backbone  of 
Presbyterianism,"  and  we  will  strike  hands  together  there  on  that  spot  where 
symbolically  and  beautifully  the  Allegheny  flows  into  the  Monongahela,  and 
the  Monongahela  flows  into  the  Allegheny,  to  make  the  broad  Ohio,  rolling  on 
into  the  Mississippi,  and  swelling  that  noble  and  majestic  river  into  the  Gulf. 


360  PKESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

JOINT  COMMUNION  SEASON. 

It  was  deemed  only  most  fitting  that,  at  this  stage  of 
pleasant  and  hallowed  interchanges,  A  JOINT  COMMUNION 
SEASON  should  be  held  now  upon  the  day  following  the 
Reunion  vote  of  the  Assemblies.  On  this  Friday  after 
noon,  at  three  o'clock,  the  solemn  service  took  place  in 
the  Brick  Church.  The  Moderators  jointly  presided. 
The  body  of  the  house  —  even  the  aisles  —  was  filled 
with  communicants.  The  galleries  were  thronged  with 
guests,  many  of  whom  were  also  communicating  church- 
members.  It  was  an  hour  so  truly  refreshing  with  the 
dew  of  Hermon  on  the  mountains  of  Zion,  that,  with  a 
most  signal  manifestation,  the  Lord  commanded  the 
blessing.  The  Venerable  Dr.  Spring  offered  the  Sacra 
mental  prayer,  and  distributed  the  bread ;  and  it  was 
as  if  Moses  or  Elias  had  come  down  to  talk  on  that 
Transfiguration  Mount  of  the  decease  accomplished  at 
Jerusalem. 

Dr.  Shaw  (N.  S.)  delivered  earnest  and  tender  words 
of  address,  followed  by  Dr.  Taylor,  of  Cincinnati  ("N.  S.), 
distributing  the  Cup ;  and  by  Dr.  Anderson(O.  S.),  of  In 
diana,  in  a  closing  appeal.  It  could  scarcely  have  been 
more  impressive  as  a  spectacle,  or  more  ravishing  as  a 
holy  feast.  The  place  was  called  by  one  and  another, 
Bethel  and  Peniel.  It  was  a  WELL,  and  it  was  named 
Beersheba,  Reliobotli,  and  Beer-la-liai  Itoi. 

This  season  of  Communion  was  all  the  more  enjoyed 
because  there  were  many  who  remembered  that  during 
the  years  of  separation,  such  a  Sacramental  meeting  of 
the  two  Assemblies  had  been  proposed,  but  was  declined, 
as  being  without  precedent. 

The  Joint  Prayer  Meeting  held  on  Saturday  morning, 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  361 

in  the  Brick  Church,  was  very  largely  attended,  and 
the  devotions  of  the  United  bodies  were  enthusiastic. 

The  tidings  had  now  gone  abroad,  and  the  sympathy 
of  other  Christian  bodies  was  deeply  stirred  and  sought 
expression. 

The  following  despatch  was  received  and  read  : 

NEWARK,  Omo,  May  28,  1869. 

The  General  Assemblies  of  the  Old  and  New  School  Presbyterians  in  the  City 
of  New  York :  — 

The  Synod  of  the  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists  greeting  the  brethren.  2 
Thess. ,  first  chap. ,  third  and  first  clause  of  fourth  verse,  and  2  Corinth. ,  thir 
teenth  chap. ,  eleventh,  twelfth,  and  thirteenth  verses. 

E.  T.  EVANS,  Moderator. 

DAVID  HARRIS,  Secretary. 

The  verses  referred  to  were  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers, 
as  follows  : 

We  are  bound  to  thank  God  always  for  you,  brethren,  as  it  is  meet,  because 
that  your  faith  groweth  exceedingly,  and  the  charity  of  every  one  of  you  all 
toward  each  other  aboundeth. 

So  that  we  ourselves  glory  in  you  in  the  churches  of  God. 

Finally,  brethren,  farewell.  Be  perfect,  be  of  good  comfort,  be  of  one 
mind,  live  in  peace ;  and  the  God  of  love  and  peace  shall  be  with  you. 

Greet  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss. 

All  the  saints  salute  you. 

The  despatch  was  received  with  much  satisfaction  by 
the  Assembly,  and  Henry  Day,  Esq.,  was  appointed  a 
committee  to  prepare  an  answer.  Before  adjournment, 
he  reported  the  following,  as  the  joint  answer  of  the 
two  Assemblies,  which  was  adopted  and  ordered  to  be 
transmitted : 

That  the  General  Assemblies,  now  convened  in  the  city  of  New  York,  return 
their  cordial  and  Christian  salutations  to  the  Synod  of  the  Calvinistic  Method 
ists  now  sitting  in  the  City  of  Newark,  Ohio,  and  we  express  to  them  our  best 
wishes  and  desires  in  the  words  of  Moses  to  Hobab,  Numbers  x.  29:  "We 
are  journeying  unto  the  place  of  which  the  Lord  said,  I  will  give  it  you. 


362  PRESBYTEKIAN   EEUNION. 

Come  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  do  thee  good  ;  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good 
concerning  Israel." 

This  fitting  passage  of  reply  was  understood  to  have 
been  suggested  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stearns,  of  Newark. 
The  N.  Y.  Tribune  entitled  this  Biblical  Telegraphic 
Correspondence,  "  Apples  of  Gold,  in  pictures  (baskets) 
of  Silver." 

A  Delegation  from  the  Evangelical  Church  of  Bohe 
mia  was  received,  and  one  of  them,  Dr.  Von  Tardy, 
said  in  the  Old  School  Assembly  as  follows : 

I  especially  congratulate  myself  that  I  am  here  just  at  this  interesting  junc 
ture,  when  these  two  bodies,  not  two  but  one,  standing  upon  a  common  foun 
dation,  are  upon  the  point  of  uniting  themselves  upon  the  common  founda 
tion  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  Christ  being  the  corner-stone,  thus  showing 
that  perfect  faith  works  love,  and  love  itself  together  with  faith  is  the  perfect 
token  of  the  children  of  God.  I  then  come  here  for  the  express  purpose  of 
being  quickened  and  refreshed. 

A  Delegation  from  the  Methodist  Preachers'  Meet- 

o 

ing,  composed  of  one  hundred  ministers  in  New  York 
and  vicinity,  was  received,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  Drs. 
Curry  and  Ridgway,  and  Rev.  Mr.  King.  The  follow 
ing  paper  was  read : 

The  New  York  Preachers'  Meeting,  composed  of  one 
hundred  pastors  of  the  Methodist  churches  in  New 
York  and  vicinity,  have  adopted  the  following  minute : 

WHEREAS,  The  General  Assemblies  of  both  branches  of  the  great  Presby 
terian  family  are  now  in  session  in  the  city,  we  take  pleasure  in  sending  to 
them  our  fraternal  greeting  and  assurances  of  our  Christian  love  and  fellow 
ship.  We  rejoice  with  them  in  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  reunion  of  the  two 
branches  of  their  communion,  and  pray  that  their  prosperity  in  the  future 
may  be  even  greater  than  it  has  been  in  the  past.  We  also  express  the  deep 
conviction  that  the  time  has  fully  come  when  all  Evangelical  churches,  for 
getting  the  sad  estrangement  of  the  past,  should  come  nearer  together,  and 
united  in  heart,  aid  in  maintaining  throughout  this  land  a  sound  morality 


THE   ASSEMBLIES   OF    1869.  363 

against  vice,  intemperance,  and  Sabbath  desecration ;  and  a  pure  religion 
against  Ritualism  and  Popery.  We  hope  the  day  is  near  at  hand  when  frater 
nal  relations  will  be  established  between  these  two  great  churches,  with  a 
mutual  interchange  of  friendly  delegates  between  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  and  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis 
copal  Church,  and  we  respectfully  suggest  that  the  General  Assembly  of  1870 
appoint  such  delegate  to  meet  with  our  General  Conference,  which  will  con 
vene  in  Brooklyn,  May  1,  1871. 

In  reply,  the  Moderator,  Dr.  Jacobus,  said : 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  reciprocates  the  Chris 
tian  salutations  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  "United  States. 
The  Church  of  John  Calvin  responds  to  the  Church  of  John  Wesley,  in  the 
name  of  our  common  Lord  and  Head.  We  are  engaged  in  a  common  conflict 
against  irreligion.  It  is  a  conflict  of  Christianity  against  all  the  powers  and 
forces  of  antichrist.  It  is  a  conflict  of  true  religion  against  irreligion  and 
false  religion.  We  rejoice  in  the  great  work  which  your  large  and  active 
Church  has  been  able  to  accomplish  in  our  land.  All  the  agencies  and  re 
sources  of  the  Christian  Church  are  needed  at  this  critical  moment.  And  we 
hope  soon  to  hail  the  time  when  the  final  conquest  of  our  King  Jesus  shall  be 
proclaimed  in  all  the  land  and  in  all  the  world. 

THE   SOUTHERN  CHURCH. 

Amidst  so  many  and  such  cordial  congratulations  in 
which  the  Spirit  of  a  Revived  Church  seemed  to  be 
awakened  and  further  foretokened  by  the  Spirit  of 
Union,  it  was  not  at  all  wonderful  that  the  heart  of  the 
Old  School  Assembly  should  go  out  towards  the  alien 
ated  brethren  of  the  Southern  Church.  A  Committee 
had  already  been  appointed  to  report  upon  the  impor 
tant  subject  of  Reunion  with  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  the  South. 

The  Rev.  A.  A.  E.  Taylor,  late  of  Georgetown,  D.  C., 
introduced  the  following  resolution  on  this  subject : 

Whereas,  The  last  General  Assembly  acknowledged  the  separate  and  inde 
pendent  existence  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Southern  States,  and 
enjoined  upon  all  subordinate  courts  so  to  treat  it,  thus  according  to  its 


364  PRESBYTEKIAN   REUNION. 

ministers  and  members  the  privilege  of  admission  into  our  body  upon  the  same 
terms  which  are  extended  to  the  ministers  and  members  of  other  branches  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church ;  therefore 

Resolved,  That  this  General  Assembly  hereby  conveys  its  Christian  saluta 
tions  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Southern 
States,  and  gives  expression  to  its  sentiments  of  Christian  fraternity  and  fel 
lowship  toward  the  ministers  and  members  of  that  body.  And  as  we  inherit 
and  hold  with  them  the  same  ancient  symbols  of  faith,  the  same  forms  of 
government  and  of  worship,  thus  representing  before  the  world  the  same 
sacred  principles  which  our  common  ancestors  witnessed,  and  which  we  have 
maintained  in  the  past,  and  especially  since  we  occupy  adjacent,  and  in  many 
places,  common  territory,  we  deem  it  due  to  our  one  Lord,  and  to  the  best  in 
terests  of  his  kingdom  on  earth,  to  express  the  desire  that  the  day  may  not  be 
distant  when  we  may  be  again  united  in  one  great  organization  that  shall 
cover  our  whole  land,  and  embrace  all  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Resolved,  That  the  Stated  Clerk  be  directed  to  forward  a  copy  of  this  reso 
lution  to  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Southern 
States. 

This  manifesto  was  thus  eminently  fraternal  —  an 
honest,  earnest  expression  of  desire,  "  That  the  day  may 
not  be  distant  when  we  may  be  again  united  in  one 
great  organization,  etc.,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church." 
It  was  the  yearning  for  Reunion  extending  itself,  and 
growing  only  more  intense  and  wide-spread,  by  its  in- 
cipient  gratification.  It  could  be  thought  of  here,  only 
in  a  spirit  of  mutual  concession  —  on  the  ground  of  ig 
noring  past  complaints,  and  burying  old  differences  - 
as  in  the  Reunion  North  —  nothing  more  said  of  old, 
"  dead  issues  —  nothing  now  charged  of  heresies  or  of 
excisions  —  no  confessions,  nor  retractions  called  for  on 
either  side."  A  poor  way  to  make  peace  is  by  taking 
up  the  war  again.  The  only  question  could  now  be, 
not  whether  the  Northern  Church,  from  which  the  South 
had  separated,  —  was  ready  —  for  that  was  most  plainly 
declared  —  but  whether  the  Southern  Church  would  be 
found  ready,  for  the  Reunion,  or  for  any  positive  step 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  365 

in  that  direction.  It  was  intimated,  at  this  juncture,  by 
the  Stated  Clerk,  Dr.  McGill,  that  in  an  informal  cor 
respondence,  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Church  South,  had 
rather  deprecated  the  agitation  of  this  question,  at 
present,  as  likely  to  disturb  the  peace  of  their  churches. 
But  it  was  felt  that,  however  this  overture  might  be 
treated  at  the  present,  the  time  must  come  when  well- 
advised  efforts  at  peace  will  not  imperil  the  peace  of 
Christ's  house,  but  will  avail  to  restore  it,  for  it  is  writ 
ten,  as  it  was  spoken  by  the  Master  himself,  "  Blessed 
are  the  peacemakers,  for  THEY  shall  be  called  the  chil 
dren  of  God" 

This  movement  in  the  New  York  Assembly  was  at 
least  in  good  faith,  and  it  went  the  full  length  of  com 
mitting  that  body  to  the  Eeunion,  and  of  taking  the  in 
itiative  in  so  good  a  cause.  And  so  far,  it  was,  indeed, 
a  great  step  in  advance.  And  though  that  body  would 
form  only  a  portion  of  subsequent  Assemblies  in  the 
Reunited  Church,  yet  they  have  put  themselves  upon 
the  record  that  so  far  as  in  them  lies,  they  crave  a 
return  to  the  old  fraternal  relations  as  of  one  grand 
Presbyterian  Church. 

When  the  French  architect  was  repairing  the  mosque 
of  St.  Sophia,  at  Constantinople,  he  asked  of  the  Sul 
tan  the  privilege  to  remove  the  whitewash  which  cov 
ered  the  ancient  Christian  emblems  that  adorned  the 
ceiling  of  that  church  of  the  silver-tongued  Chrysostom, 
and  the  Sultan  replied  "  The  time  lias  not  come  yet" 
But  we  say  the  time  is  coming,  and  must  come,  when 
our  holy  and  our  beautiful  house  where  our  fathers 
worshipped  must  be  restored  from  floor  to  ceiling,  and 
when  the  emblems  of  our  Christianity,  that  have  been 


366  PRESBYTEKIAN     REUNION. 

covered  with  divers  washes  of  the  hour,  must  be  made 
to  appear  again.  And  no  man,  nor  set  of  men,  can 
possibly  prevent  this  blessed  result. 

The  Moderator  of  the  late  Established  Kirk  of  Scot 
land  Assembly,  Dr.  Norman  McLeod,  in  his  closing 
address  to  that  body,  said,  "Not  for  the  sake  of  my 
Church,  but  rather  for  the  sake  of  our  common  country 
and  common  Christianity,  I  would  refuse  to  be  an  Old 
Mortality,  restoring  and  keeping  fresh  the  deep  and 
sharp-cut  lines  on  the  monuments  reared  by  us  all,  on  our 
old  Ecclesiastical  battle-fields,  but  would  rather  leave 
them  to  be  quietly  covered  by  time  and  a  genial  heaven, 
with  their  benevolent  ministrations  of  green  moss  and 
lichen  —  emblems  of  that  Christian  charity  which  cov- 
ereth  a  multitude  of  sins." 

At  this  very  time,  the  Southern  Assembly  was  in 
session  at  Mobile,  Ala.,  with  over  one  hundred  Com 
missioners. 

Since  this  writing,  we  regret  to  add  that  a  more 
special  overture  of  the  first  Reunited  Assembly,  borne 
by  a  most  conciliatory  delegation,  has  been  answered 
by  declinature  and  "indictment,"  yet  though  the  As 
sembly  was  carried  for  such  an  unhappy  response,  we 
rejoice  to  know  that  it  was  not  without  strong  and 
manly  protests,  and  not  without  a  feeling  of  Christian 
revulsion  in  the  ministry  and  membership  at  large, 
which  will  soon,  we  trust,  make  itself  felt  in  another 
Assembly  of  the  Southern  Church,  that  we  may  be  ONE 
again,  beyond  the  reach  of  any  poor,  political  complica 
tion  — •  the  Church  ONE  for  the  nation's  sake,  and  the 
nation  ONE  for  the  Church's  sake. 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  367 

THE   REFORMED   CHURCH  NATIONAL   COUNCIL. 

From  still  another  quarter,  another  and  important 
movement  for  Union  of  the  Churches  indicated  the 
spirit  of  the  time. 

A  communication  was  received  and  adopted  by  both 
Assemblies  from  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
(Dutch)  Church,  proposing  a  National  Council  of 
Evangelical  Churches,  for  mutual  strengthening  and 
defence,  and  for  promotion  of  the  common  cause  of 
Christianity  versus  Antichrist : 

It  is  the  conviction  of  this  Synod,  that  wholesome  fraternal  measures  may 
be  adopted  for  combining  and  unifying  the  Evangelical  denominations  in  sup 
port  of  the  common  doctrines  of  Christianity,  without  involving  any  surrender 
of  the  distinctive  features  and  individual  characteristics  of  these  denomina 
tions. 

The  state  of  Christianity  in  our  country,  in  its  relation  to  antichristian 
forces,  seems  to  encourage  an  effort  to  secure  a  co-operation  among  all  who 
"  hold  the  faith,"  in  measures  fitted  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  times. 

Hoping  that  your  reverend  body  may  be  willing  to  take  the  action  sug 
gested  in  the  preceding  paper,  we  subscribe  ourselves  as 
Yours  in  fraternal  bonds, 

EGBERT  S.  PORTER, 

Pres't  of  General  Synod. 
DAVID  D.  DEMAREST, 
New  York,  May,  1869.  Stated  Clerk. 

The  following  action  was  taken  by  the  New  School 
Assembly,  on  the  proposal  for  a  general  Christian 
Council,  submitted  by  the  Reformed  Church  (this  is  a 
report  from  Dr.  Maxwell's  Special  Committee)  : 

Recognizing  this  proposition  as  a  part  of  the  great  movement  of  our  day, 
which  is  seeking  better  to  express  the  essential  unity  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  to  bring  about  that  organic  unity  toward  which  we  have  just  taken  so 
important  a  step,  we  regard  it  as  one  eminently  fitting  to  be  entertained. 
Our  own  hearts  have  felt  most  convincingly  the  influences  of  that  Spirit  when 
in  joint  supplications  for  the  reunion  of  our  separated  Presbyterian  family. 
Mutual  love  and  confidence  fill  the  hearts  of  believers.  The  spirit  of  wisdom 


368  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

seems  to  be  imparted  to  our  councils  for  reunion,  and  from  all  branches  of  the 
Church  the  prayer  is  going  up  for  a  speedy  realization  of  that  oneness  for 
which  our  Redeemer  prayed.  And  when  God  so  manifestly  points  the  way 
and  opens  the  path  where  was  a  sea  of  difficulties  before,  it  is  for  His  people 
to  go  forward.  Great  good  may  also  result  from  the  adoption  of  some  such 
plan.  In  a  common  profession  of  the  essentials  of  our  common  faith ;  in  the 
promotion  of  wholesome  discipline  and  mutual  co-operation  therein ;  in  devi 
sing  means  of  practical  evangelism ;  in  borrowing  life  from  every  part,  and  in 
diffusing  it  through  all  the  members  of  the  common  body ;  in  presenting  a 
common  front  to  a  common  foe  ;  in  such  prospects  of  vast  good  accomplished, 
we  see  a  motive  for  acceding  to  the  proposition  submitted.  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  five  representatives  of  this  body,  three  ministers  and  two 
laymen,  be  appointed  to  meet  similar  representatives  from  other  bodies  on 
the  third  Tuesday  of  October,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  provided  the  higher 
Judicatories  and  Assemblies  of  sister  churches  accede  to  the  proposition. 

Similar  action  was  taken  by  the  other  branch,  and 
Delegates  were  appointed  likewise. 

Still  another  announcement  in  the  same  direction 
was  made  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  I.  Prime,  representing  the 
Evangelical  Alliance,  a  Protestant  Ecumenical  Council, 
to  assemble  in  the  autumn  of  1870,  in  the  city  of  New 
York: 

The  Evangelical  Alliance  in  this  country  has  called  the  various  Christians 
of  all  denominations  to  meet  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  autumn  of  this 
year ;  and  it  has  also  invited  a  conference  of  Evangelical  Christians,  from  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  to  meet  in  this  city,  in  the  autumn  of  1870.  We 
have  now  an  agent  in  Europe,  Rev.  Dr.  Schaff,  who  is  making  arrangements 
with  the  brethren  in  England,  and  in  Germany,  and  in  Holland,  and  in  Swit 
zerland,  and  in  other  countries,  to  be  represented  at  that  conference  ;  and  we 
have  no  doubt  that,  with  God's  blessing,  it  will  be  not  only  one  of  the  most 
interesting,  but  one  of  the  most  useful  assemblages  of  Christians  ever  held  in 
this  country,  and  perhaps  in  the  world.  I  count  it  a  great  joy  to  be  per 
mitted  to  commend  the  operations  of  this  institution  to  the  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  to  ask  that,  in  your  several  spheres  of  usefulness, 
in  the  several  cities  and  towns  in  which  you  reside,  you  will  make  known  its 
character  and  its  operations,  and  that  these  conferences  may  be  understood. 
We  hope  that  your  several  localities  will  be  represented  in  it,  and  that  we 
may  bring  together  Christians  from  all  parts  of  this  country,  and  then  in  the 
following  year  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  who  will  unite  their  hearts  and 
their  hands  in  the  great  work  which  the  Alliance  sets  before  it. 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  369 

At  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Prime's  address,  the  follow 
ing  paper,  introduced  by  Rev.  John  Hall,  D.D.,  was 
adopted : 

Resolved,  1.  That  this  Assembly  has  heard  with  great  satisfaction  that  the 
Evangelical  Alliance  of  the  United  States  has  invited  a  Conference  of  Evan 
gelical  Christians  in  this  country,  to  meet  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  en 
suing  autumn,  and  a  general  Conference  of  Evangelical  Christians  in  all  the 
earth,  to  assemble  in  the  same  city  of  New  York,  in  the  autumn  of  1870 ;  and 
it  will  unite  its  prayers  with  those  of  Christ's  people  everywhere,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  may  guide  their  counsels  and  lead  to  wise  results  for  the  advance 
ment  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

Resolved,  2.  That  the  principles  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  identified  as 
they  are  with  the  progress  of  religious  liberty,  education,  and  Christianity  in 
the  earth,  are  increasingly  precious  in  our  eyes,  and  we  call  upon  our  minis 
ters  and  people  to  watch  with  jealous  care  the  efforts  of  Romanism  in  the 
United  States,  and  by  the  employment  of  all  suitable  means,  to  resist  insidi 
ous  attempts  of  Roman  Catholics  to  obtain  undue  influence  in  this  country. 

And  now  the  time  for  adjournment  was  at  hand. 

The  closing  scenes  in  both  Assemblies  were  truly  im 
pressive.  Parting  to  meet  again,  if  God  should  so 
please,  in  a  distant  city,  a  six  months  hence.  And  yet 
to  think  of  possible  vacancies  in  the  seats  of  the  Com 


missioners 


Careful  and  detailed  provision  had  been  made  con 
currently  in  both  Assemblies,  for  securing  from  the 
Presbyteries  a  categorical  answer  to  the  questions  over- 
tured  in  the  plan,  so  as  that  a  full  return  might  be 
made  to  the  November  meeting. 

The  New  School  Assembly  ADJOURNED  on  the  tenth 
day,  and  the  Old  School  Assembly  on  the  eleventh  day 
of  their  sessions  at  evening,  to  reassemble  in  the  city  of 
Pittsburg,  on  the  tenth  day  of  November,  in  the  Third 
and  First  Presbyterian  Churches,  respectively.  The 
members  of  both  bodies  had  been  held  together  in 

24 


370  PEESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

unusually  full  numbers  till  the  close,  and  beyond  the 
adjournment  of  the  New  School,  many  remained  to 
witness  the  conclusion  of  the  other  Assembly.  In  the 
nature  of  the  case,  such  Ecclesiastical  proceedings, 
whose  harmony  had  been  so  unbroken,  left  little  of  the 
wearied,  worn-out  feeling  that  ensues  upon  mere  rou 
tine  transactions  of  Church  Courts.  The  two  houses 
had  both  been  banqueting  houses,  and  the  banner  over 
both  of  them  had  been  LOVE. 

The  hospitalities  of  New  York  Christians  had  been 
displayed  in  the  spirit  of  a  large-hearted  Christianity. 
And  no  pen  can  adequately  detail  the  thousand  pleas 
ing  incidents  occurring  daily  at  the  tables  of  the  gen 
erous  entertainers.  Besides,  it  was  quite  a  specialty 
of  the  occasion,  that  soirees  were  given  at  private 
houses,  in  which  groups  of  a  score  or  two  from  the  two 
Assemblies  were  gathered  round  the  table,  with  Chris 
tian  cheer,  followed  by  genial  rounds  of  address  and 
personal  reminiscences  of  Reunion  movements.  .Who 
that  had  the  happiness  of  being  present  at  the  dejeuner 
of  Dr.  Adams,  or  of  Mr.  Henry  Day,  will  ever  forget 
the  graceful  challenge  and  genial  repartee,  and  the  im 
promptu  address  and  response  all  round  the  circle,  that 
brought  smiles  and  tears  in  quick  succession.  Such 
brimming  emotions  at  length  as  broke  the  alabaster 
box  and  filled  the  room  with  the  odor  of  the  ointment. 
And,  not  to  mention  other  names,  it  may  be  allowed  to 
refer  to  like  Christian  refreshings  at  Dr.  E.  P.  Rogers', 
of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  Henry  M.  Alexander 
and  James  Brown,  Esqs.,  where  elegant  hospitali 
ties  were  lavished  upon  the  guests  of  both  branches. 

Members  lingered  as  if  reluctant  to  leave  the  spot 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  371 

consecrated  by  such  thrice  happy  meetings.  And  they 
looked  with  confident  forecast  over  the  six  months  in 
terval,  to  the  reassembling  at  Pittsburg,  to  receive 
from  the  Presbyteries  the  word  of  ratification.  Already 
the  marriage  covenant  was  signed  by  the  high  con 
tracting  parties.  It  seemed  «only  a  signature  of  the 
witnesses  and  a  marriage  certificate  that  was  further 
requisite.  And  Pittsburg  was  already  looked  to  as  the 
city  which  should  be  honored  with  celebrating  the  rare 
nuptials. 

Such  unanimity  as  had  characterized  the  action  of 
both  Assemblies  left  little  doubt  on  the  minds  of  any, 
that  the  Presbyteries  would  return  the  requisite  major 
ity  and  more,  in  favor  of  the  plan  as  overtured  by  the 
Assembly.  Nevertheless,  there  was  anxiety  until  the 
result  should  be  fixed  beyond  any  peradventure.  Si 
lent  Presbyteries  were  to  be  counted  with  the  negative, 
because  a  clear  affirmative  vote  of  two-thirds  was 
required.  Besides  this,  the  foreign  and  frontier  Pres 
byteries  might  not  act,  or  not  in  season.  Still  further, 
some  dissent  would  certainly  show  itself  in  a  few  Pres 
byteries,  though  there  was  no  token  of  organized  or 
concerted  opposition.  And  any  negative  vote  beyond 
one-third  of  'either  Assembly,  which  might,  indeed,  be 
less  than  one-sixth  of  the  whole  number  of  Presbyteries, 
would  defeat  the  movement.  The  writer  of  this, 
received  letters  expressing  such  anxiety  —  and  that 
from  those  who  might  be  supposed  to  be  most  capable 
of  judging  how  the  field  lay. 

The  PRESS,  both  secular  and  religious,  was  most 
active  and  decisive  for  the  Reunion.  And  this  was  by 
no  means  confined  to  the  Press  of  the  denomination, 


372  PRESBYTERIAN"    REUNION. 

but  was  most  remarkably  the  voice  of  the  leading 
Journals  in  the  land.  Such  an  Eirenicon  was  hailed, 
on  all  hands,  as  a  precious  National  boon. 

The  PASTORAL  LETTER  ordered  to  be  prepared  by  the 
Joint  Committee  of  Conference  and  the  two  Moderators, 
was  soon  issued  to  the  Churches.  (See  Appendix.) 
It  was  brief,  direct  and  earnest,  and  it  aimed,  in  a  spirit 
of  Christian  conciliation,  to  state  the  case  with  clear 
ness,  and  in  terms  of  honest  simplicity  to  urge  the  fit 
ness  and  timeliness  of  the  Great  Measure  of  Reunion. 
It  had  been  first  submitted  to  each  of  the  Joint  Com 
mittee,  and  had  received  the  cordial  approval  of  each 
member  separately.  It  is  testified  to,  as  having  done 
good  service  in  helping  forward  the  blessed  work. 
And  it  stands  on  record  as  a  public  testimony  to  the 
equal  terms  of  the  Reunion,  and  to  the  strong  and  pos 
itive  adherence  to  the  Standards,  on  one  part  equally  as 
on  the  other  part,  without  any  restriction  or  qualifica 
tion. 

DAY  OF  PRAYER. 

The  Day  of  Prayer,  recommended  by  both  the  Assem 
blies,  came.  The  great  theme  of  Union  and  Reunion 
was  treated  by  the  thousands  of  ministers  in  so  many 
pulpits  of  the  Church.  It  was  a  rare  season  of  con 
certed  supplications.  At  this  advanced  period  (Sep 
tember),  within  two  months  of  the  re-assembling  iu 
Pittsburg,  there  seemed  scarcely  the  shadow  of  a  doubt 
as  to  the  issue.  The  public  sentiment  had  settled  down 
to  a  measurable  certainty.  And  yet,  the  Great  Con 
cert  of  Prayer  for  the  Reunion,  on  the  eve  of  the 
meeting  of  the  two  Assemblies,  was  a  grand  auxiliary. 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  373 

Not  a  few  of  the  leading  Presbyteries  had  already 
met  soon  after  the  Assemblies'  adjournment,  to  receive 
and  act  upon  the  Report  of  their  Commissioners. 
And  the  indications  had  been  slowly  gathering  with  in 
creased  distinctness.  But  now,  God,  the  Paraclete, 
Teacher,  and  Strengthener,  was  invoked  by  the  Assem 
bled  Churches,  on  both  parts,  for  the  best  results,  and 
for  the  consummation  of  all  that  was  hoped  for.  The 
heart  of  the  people  was  plainly  enlisted  for  the  move 
ment.  As  the  time  approached,  reports  from  the  fall 
Presbyteries  were  rolled  up  in  swelling  affirmatives, 
and  beyond  the  requisite  two-thirds,  on  both  sides. 
And  the  glad  announcement  was  at  length  made  that 
the  conditions  precedent  had  been  fulfilled  ! 

PROCEEDINGS     AT     THE    ADJOURNED    SESSION     IN     PITTS- 
BURG. 

According  to  adjournment,  the  two  Assemblies  con 
vened  in  the  City  of  Pittsburg,  on  Wednesday,  No 
vember  10th,  1869,  at  11  o'clock,  A.  M. 

The  General  Assembly  (O.  S.)  met  in  the  First  Pres 
byterian  Church,  on  Wood  street. 

The  General  Assembly  (N.  S.)  convened  in  the  Third 
Presbyterian  Church,  on  Sixth  avenue. 

These  churches  were  only  a  couple  of  blocks  apart. 

The  members  in  attendance  were  more  nearly  equal 
in  numbers  than  at  the  New  York  session.  The  Old 
School  roll  counted  237,  and  the  New  School  roll 
227. 

After  clearing  the  docket  of  whatever  business  be 
longed  to  the  Old  School  body,  the  Stated  Clerk,  Dr. 
McGill,  read  the  Report  of  the  action  of  Presbyteries 


374  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

in  response  to  the  overture  on  Reunion.     This  was  on 
Thursday  morning — the  Second  Day. 

KEPOKT  ON  THE  REUNION  VOTE  OP  THE  PRESBYTERIES. 

The  Presbyteries  in  connection  with  this  General  Assembly  have  all  report 
ed  in  writing,  on  the  overture  of  Reunion,  as  ordered  in  the  Brick  Church, 
at  New  York,  except  the  following  ten,  viz.  :  Austin,  Corisco,  Knox,  Knox- 
ville,  Maury,  Ogdensburg,  Shantung,  Siam,  Stockton,  and  Western  Africa. 

The  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Santa  Fe  Presbytery  has  reported  by  letter,  that 
it  is  impossible  for  this  Presbytery  to  have  a  meeting,  in  present  circumstan 
ces.  The  Presbyteries  of  Allahabad  and  Canton,  being  unable  to  meet  with 
in  the  time  specified,  have  sent  circulars,  signed  by  a  majority  of  each,  to  in 
dicate  the  will  of  the  Presbytery  in  favor  of  the  Reunion  as  now  proposed : 
but  these  are  not  counted  in  declaring  the  result.  Another  Presbytery,  La 
hore,  formed  by  the  Synod  of  Northern  India,  in  December  last,  but  not  reg 
ularly  reported  as  yet  by  any  officer  of  that  Synod,  has  sent  its  answer  to 
this  overture,  in  written  form,  and  this  has  been  counted ;  on  the  presump 
tion  that  the  Assembly  will  recognize,  at  this  meeting,  the  existence  of  that 
Presbytery  on  our  roll. 

We  have  thus  one  hundred  and  forty-four  Presbyteries.  One  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  of  these  have  answered  the  overture  sent  down  affirmatively, 
in  writing.  Three,  Hudson,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  West  Lexington,  have  an 
swered  in  the  negative. 

Informal  Reports  from  the  Presbyteries  of  Stockton, 
Ogdensburg,  and  Milwaukee,  in  the  affirmative,  were 
admitted  to  record. 

In  both  Assemblies  action  was  taken  looking  to 
union  with  the  United  Presbyterian  body,  without 
any  bar  from  their  Psalmody. 

A  book  was  opened  on  the  clerk's  desk  for  the  au 
tographs  of  all  the  officers  and  members  of  both  As 
semblies.  Photographic  artists  succeeded  in  taking 
excellent  views  of  both  bodies  as  they  were  grouped 
in  front  of  their  respective  churches. 

On  Thursday  evening,  a  Public  Meeting  in  the  inter 
est  of  Home  Missions  was  held  in  the  First  Church. 
Stirring  addresses  were  made,  and  the  large  audience 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  375 

of  both  Assemblies  evinced  their  appreciation  of  that 
vastly  augmented  strength  which  the  Reunion  must 
give  to  the  denomination,  for  vigorously  prosecuting 
this  great  work  of  our  day. 

On  Friday  morning,  the  deputation  from  the  New 
School,  to  report  the  vote  of  their  Presbyteries,  was 
announced  in  the  Old  School  Assembly.  It  consisted 
of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Aiken,  and  Z.  M.  Humphrey,  and  the 
Hon.  Jno.  A.  Foote. 

The  chairman,  Dr.  Aiken  introduced  the  reading  of 
the  Report  as  follows : 

MR.  MODERATOR. — I  am  one,  sir,  of  a  Committee  of  three  appointed  by  the 
other  branch  to  wait  upon  this  Assembly,  and  to  report  to  you  the  results  of 
the  action  of  our  Presbyteries  on  the  subject  of  Reunion.  As  I  may  take  it 
for  granted,  I  suppose,  that  you  are  ready  to  receive  our  report,  I  would  beg 
leave  to  call  on  Dr.  Humphrey,  one  of  the  Committee,  to  read  an  official 
statement  from  our  Stated  Clerk. 

Dr.  Humphrey  read  the  following  : 
REPORT. 

Report  of  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America,  on  t7ie  answers  of  the  Presbyteries  to  UK, 
Overture  on  the  Reunion  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Church. 

The  number  of  Presbyteries  connected  with  this  General  Assembly  is  one 
hundred  and  thirteen.'  Official  responses  have  been  received  from  every  one 
of  them.  They  have  all  answered  the  overture  in  the  affirmative.  In  each 
of  the  Presbyteries  of  Albany,  "Wellsboro,  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  a 
single  negative  vote  was  cast.  In  each  of  the  remaining  one  hundred  and 
ten  Presbyteries,  the  vote  was  unanimous. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

EDWIX  T.  HATFIELD,  Stated  Clerk. 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  November  10,  1869. 

The  reading  of  the  report  was  hailed  with  great  ap 
plause. 


376  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

The  Moderator,  Dr.  Jacobus,  responded  in  these 
words : 

BRETHREN,  —  Our  hearts  have  been  deeply  moved  by  the  announcement  of 
the  singular  unanimity  which  has  pervaded  your  body ;  a  unanimity,  as  we 
believe,  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  Only  three  Pres 
byters  of  all  your  list  of  voters,  in  all  parts  of  this  land,  and  of  other  lands, 
vote  JVb  to  this  programme  of  Reunion.  Is  not  this  in  the  line  of  what  was 
predicted  by  the  Evangelical  Prophet:  "Thy  watchmen  shall  lift  up  the 
voice  ;  with  the  voice  together  shall  they  sing- ;  for  they  shall  see  eye  to  eye, 
when  the  Lord  shall  bring  again  Zion  "  ?  And  shall  not  the  results  be  also  in 
the  line  of  what  was  predicted  in  the  same  connection  by  that  prophet : 
"  Break  forth  into  joy,  sing  tog-ether,  ye  waste  places  of  Jerusalem;  for  the 
Lord  hath  comforted  his  people,  he  hath  redeemed  Jerusalem  "  ?  The  Lord 
bless  us  and  keep  us.  The  Lord  lift  up  the  light  of  his  countenance  upon  us, 
and  give  us  peace.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Henry  Day  moved  the  adoption  of  the  following 
paper.  It  was  unanimously  adopted  by  a  rising  vote, 
as  follows : 

This  Assembly  having  received  and  examined  the  statement  of  the  votes 
of  the  several  Presbyteries  on  the  Basis  of  the  Reunion  of  the  two  bodies  now 
claiming  the  name  and  the  rights  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  which  Basis  is  in  the  words  following,  namely :  ' '  The 
Union  shall  be  effected  on  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  Basis  of  our  com 
mon  standards ;  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  shall  be  ac 
knowledged  to  be  the  inspired  word  of  God,  and  the  only  infallible  rule  of 
faith  and  practice ;  the  Confession  of  Faith  shall  continue  to  be  sincerely  re 
ceived  and  adopted  as  containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures ;  and  the  Government  and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  shall  be  approved  as  containing  the  principles  and  rules  of 
our  polity ;  "  —  does  hereby  find  and  declare  that  said  Basis  of  Union  has 
been  approved  by  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  Presbyteries  connected  with 
this  branch  of  the  Church,  —  and  whereas,  the  other  branch  of  the  Presbyte 
rian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  now  sitting  in  the  Third  Pres 
byterian  Church,  in  the  City  of  Pittsburg,  has  reported  to  this  Assembly 
that  said  Basis  has  been  approved  by  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  Presbyte 
ries  connected  with  that  branch  of  the  Church,  now,  therefore,  we  do  sol 
emnly  declare  that  said  Basis  of  Reunion  is  of  binding  force.  [Applause.] 

Dr.  Rodgers  said : 

MR.  MODERATOR,  —  My  grandfather  was  the  first  Moderator  of  the  Pres- 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  377 

byterian  Church  in  these  United  States ;  and,  as  his  grandson,  I  move  you 
now  that  this  General  Assembly  be  dissolved.     The  motion  was  passed. 

The  Moderator,  Dr.  Jacobus,  then  said : 

By  virtue  of  the  authority  delegated  to  me  by  the  Church,  let  this  Gene 
ral  Assembly  be  dissolved,  and  I  do  hereby  dissolve  it,  and  require  another 
General  Assembly,  chosen  in  the  same  manner,  to  meet  in  the  City  of  Phila 
delphia,  on  the  third  Thursday  of  May,  Anno  Domini,  1870,  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M. 

In  the  New  School  Assembly,  the  Moderator  an 
nounced  that  a  deputation  was  present  from  the  other 
Assembly,  and  if  no  objections  were  made,  it  would 
now  be  heard.  The  deputation  consisted  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Musgrave,  and  Mr.  Day. 

Dr.  Musgrave  said : 

I  appear  before  you  as  a  delegate  from  the  General  Assembly  in  session  in 
the  First  Church,  to  communicate  to  you  specially  the  vote  of  our  Presbyte 
ries  on  the  subject  of  Reunion.  We  have  brought  a  certified  copy  of  the 
vote  ;  the  majority  has  been  much  more  than  two-thirds  —  the  number  re 
quired  —  and  the  votes  of  our  Presbyteries  have  been  almost  unanimous .  The 
overture  has  been  adopted,  and  the  union  has  thus  been  consummated.  I 
have  not  time  to  make  a  speech,  and  am  not  in  condition  to  do  it.  I  will, 
therefore,  simply  add,  that  I  never  discharged  any  duty  in  my  life  with  a 
greater  pleasure  than  this.  I  have  had  many  duties  during  the  course  of  my 
ministry,  that  have  filled  my  heart  with  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  God,  but  I 
may  say  that  nothing  has  so  excited  my  gratitude  and  joy  as  this.  I  believe 
it  has  been  brought  about  by  the  Spirit  and  Providence  of  God,  and  I  firmly 
believe  that,  as  this  result  has  been  introduced  by  Him,  so  He  will  continue 
to  guide  and  bless  us,  and  make  this  union  a  blessing  to  our  land  and  the  world. 

Mr.  Day  then  read  the  certified  vote  of  the  Old 
School  Presbyteries  on  the  overture  of  Reunion  —  only 
three  dissenting.  The  reading  of  the  vote  was  greeted 
with  applause. 

Mr.  Day  said : 

BRETHREN,  —  I  trust  that  perhaps  at  this  very  moment  an  overture  or  state- 


378  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

ment  similar  in  character  has  gone  forth  from,  this  Assembly  to  the  Assembly 
from  which  we  have  come,  and  that  it  is  being  read  there  at  this  very  moment. 
These  two  churches,  so  long  divided,  are  now  united  by  the  hand  of  God ;  and 
what  God  hath  joined  together,  brethren,  let  us  never  sunder.  [Applause.] 

The  Moderator  (Dr.  Fowler)  : 

This  General  Assembly  feel  renewed  within  them  the  joy  they  experienced 
oa  being  unofficially  informed  of  the  result  of  the  vote  in  your  Presbyteries, 
and  we  fully  sympathize  with  you  in  your  hopes  for  the  future.  Bear  to  your 
Assembly  the  assurance  that  we  are  in  full  accord  with  them.  [Applause.  ] 

Dr.  Adams : 

Mr.  MODERATOR, —  I  move  you  the  following  resolution  : 
This  Assembly  having  received  and  examined  the  statement  of  the  votes  of 
the  several  Presbyteries  on  the  Basis  of  the  Reunion  of  the  two  bodies  now 
claiming  the  name  and  the  rights  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  which  Basis  is  in  the  words  following,  viz.  :  ' '  The  Union 
shall  be  effected  on  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  Basis  of  our  Common 
standards  ;  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  shall  be  acknowl 
edged  to  be  the  inspired  word  of  God,  and  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
practice ;  the  Confession  of  Faith  shall  continue  to  be  sincerely  received  and 
adopted  as  containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ; 
and  the  Government  and  Discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  shall  be  approved  as  containing  the  principles  and  rules  of  our  polity ;" 
—  does  hereby  find  and  declare  that  said  Basis  of  Union  has  been  approved  by 
more  than  two-thirds  of  the  Presbyteries  connected  with  this  branch  of  the 
Church, —  and  whereas,  the  other  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  now  sitting  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the 
city  of  Pittsburg,  has  reported  to  this  Assembly  that  said  Basis  has  been  ap 
proved  by  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  Presbyteries  connected  with  that 
branch  of  the  Church,  now,  therefore,  we  do  solemnly  declare  that  said 
Basis  of  Reunion  is  of  binding  force. 

The   paper   was  adopted  unanimously   by  a  rising 
vote. 

THE  ASSEMBLY  DISSOLVED. 

Dr.  Adams : 

I  now  move  you,  Mr.  Moderator,  that  this  Assembly  be  dissolved  in  the 
usual  form  prescribed  by  our  constitution. 


Adopted  unanimously. 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  379 

The  Moderator,  Dr.  Fowler,  then  said  as  follows  : 

By  virtue  of  the  authority  delegated  to  me  by  the  Church,  let  this  General 
Assembly  be  dissolved,  and  I  do  hereby  dissolve  it,  and  require  another  Assem 
bly,  chosen  in  the  same  manner,  to  meet  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  in 
Philadelphia,  on  the  third  Thursday  in  May,  1870. 

It  had  already  been  agreed  that  at  ten  o'clock,  on  this 
day,  the  two  Assemblies  should  each  be  regularly  dis 
solved,  and  that  the  two  bodies  should  immediately 
come  together  for  such  religious  celebration  of  the 

o  o 

grand  event  as  was  befitting  to  the  occasion. 

Thus,  at  the  same  hour,  in  both  houses,  with  a  sol 
emnity  becoming  so  rare  an  event,  the  Moderators 
formally  dissolved  their  respective  Assemblies.  The 
Christian  Doxology,  and  the  Apostolic  benediction, 
closed  whatever  pertained  to  the  separate  history  and 
doings  of  these  kindred  bodies,  which  had  now  become 
in  effect  OXE. 

The  hour  of  ten  arrived.  The  skies  had  thus  far 
been  propitious.  But  the  chill  November  wind  was  out 
on  this  memorable  morning,  when  the  two  Assemblies 
were  to  meet  and  to  greet  each  other  in  the  open  street. 
The  city  was  moved ;  and  no  blast  of  November  could 
repress  the  public  enthusiasm.  The  programme  was 
well  arranged,  and  its  items  were  admirably  car 
ried  out.  The  New  School  body  first  left  their  house, 
at  the  hour,  and  marched  in  double  file  down  Sixth 
avenue  to  Wood  street.  As  they  turned  the  corner  into 
Wood,  the  head  of  the  column  stood  opposite  the  First 
Church.  This  was  the  signal  for  the  Old  School  body 
to  move  out  of  their  house,  and  to  take  up  the  line  of 
march  in  a  parallel  column  with  the  other  body,  along 
Wood  street,  also  in  double  file.  The  marshals  and 


380  PRESBYTEEIAN   EEUOTON. 

their  aids,  who  headed  the  two  advancing  columns, 
found  no  little  difficulty  in  clearing  the  street.  The 
Marshals  were  Gen.  J.  K.  MOEEIIEAD,  SAMUEL  REA, 
JOHN  D.  McCoRD,  and  GEORGE  H.  STUAET;  and  their 
Aids,  JOSEPH  DILWORTH,  CHARLES  J.  CLARKE,  ROBERT 
A.  CLARKE,  WILLIAM  A.  HERRON,  DAVID  ROBINSON,  and 
T.  A.  CREE.  Besides  the  crowds  who  thronged  the 
sidewalks  and  filled  the  doors  and  windows,  the  broad 
avenue  was  ajam  with  eager  spectators.  Waving  of 
handkerchiefs  and  shouts  of  applause  greeted  the  rare 
procession,  and  evinced  the  public  enthusiasm.  The 
Iron  City  was  electrified.  The  magnetism  of  such  a 
movement  was  attractive  beyond  any  parallel.  It 
was  confined  to  no  denomination.  The  heart  of  the 
people  was  stirred.  It  was,  indeed,  a  spectacle  alto 
gether  novel.  Christian  fraternity  was  holding  Jubi 
lee  !  The  parallel  ranks,  Old  School  and  New  School, 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  avenue,  two-and-two,  arm-in 
arm,  moved  along  one  block,  when  a  halt  was  made. 
The  two  Moderators  who  headed  their  respective  col 
umns,  then  approached  each  other,  and  grasped  hands 
with  a  will.  This  was  the  signal  for  the  Clerks,  who 
followed,  and  then  the  pairs  all  through  the  ranks 
parted,  crossed  over,  and  paired  anew,  —  the  Old  and 
New,  grasping  each  other,  and  amidst  welcomes,  thanks 
givings,  and  tears,  they  locked  arms  and  stood  together 
in  their  reformed  relations.  There  were  rare  personal 
meetings  on  that  avenue  after  this  strange  fashion. 
Men  found  themselves,  by  this  wonderful  order  of  the 
ranks,  brought  face  to  face,  and  hand  to  hand,  with 
those  from  whom  they  had  been  a  long  time  separated, 
and,  perhaps,  more  or  less  alienated. 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  381 

There  were  incidents  within  that  brief  moment  of 
forming  the  new  columns  which  stirred  half  a  thousand 

O 

hearts  to  the  depths,  brothers  hailing  brothers,  as  if 
long  absent  or  lost ;  some  discovered  to  others,  as  Joseph 
to  his  brethren,  and  others  falling  upon  the  neck 
of  those  long  dissevered  and  at  strife,  as  Jacob  and 
Esau.  For  example,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  two 
eminent  and  excellent  pastors  of  the  same  city  in  New 
York  State,  who  had  for  years  been  estranged,  as  ac 
knowledged  leaders  in  their  respective  branches  of  the 
Church,  found  themselves  in  that  providential  pairing 
brought  together  for  the  hand-shaking  and  fraternal 
greeting  which  was  the  divine  order  of  the  day. 
Neither  of  those  dear  brethren  was  the  man  to  resist 
the  loving  ordinance  of  God.  Neither  of  them  could 
fail  to  note  the  providential  commandment.  Even,  in 
any  case,  what  arm  could  be  so  withered  as  not  to  move 
at  such  command  of  Jesus  to  stretch  it  forth  to  a 
brother  in  Christ,  for  its  own  cure  ?  And  at  this  great 
family  holiday  it  was  meet  to  make  merry  and  be  glad. 
Those  large  hearts  bounded  at  the  celestial  signal  for 
that  fraternal  embrace.  They  met.  They  grasped 
each  other.  They  wept  together  on  the  street.  They 
stood  arm-in-arm  in  the  ranks  and  blessed  God.  All 
alienations  were  gone.  They  were  brothers  confessed 
before  men  and  angels,  under  the  open  sky,  and  on  they 
marched  with  gushing  emotion  to  keep  the  Reunion 
Jubilee  together  in  God's  house.  On  the  next  Sabbath 

O 

r  each  of  these  pastors  made  public  mention  of  the  stri 
king  incident  to  their  respective  congregations,  as  indi 
cating  the  finger  of  God  in  the  great  movement,  bear 
ing  testimony  to  the  Eeunion,  as  so  personal  with  them- 


382  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

selves.  And,  as  by  a  strange  magic  such  a  revolution 
had  occurred  as  in  a  moment,  and  the  Presbyterian 
ranks  had  been  formed  anew,  so  had  occurred  the  great 
Reunion,  of  which  this  was  only  the  typical  illustra 
tion.  Through  Fifth  avenue  into  Smithfield  street, 

O  / 

and  onward  to  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church,  the  pro 
cession  passed,  brethren  unbosoming  themselves  to 
brethren  at  every  step.  It  was  a  grand  public  profes 
sion  of  Christian  unity.  It  was  felt  to  be  the  linking 
of  mighty  forces  for  doing  battle  against  a  world  of 
evil 

Men  of  all  beliefs  acknowledged  the  power  of  such 
a  movement.  It  was  well  remarked  that  "  the  tread  of 
armed  thousands  through  the  same  thoroughfares,  with 
banners  blackened  and  torn  in  their  country's  defence, 
had  not  so  stirred  the  soul  of  the  people  as  did  the 
sight  of  this  united  band  of  once  separated  brethren." 
It  was  a  triumph  of  love  —  a  victory  gained  under  the 
banner  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  As  the  procession 
reached  the  church,  the  building  was  blockaded  by  the 
waiting  multitude.  Within  the  house,  both  the  gallery 
and  orchestra  were  already  in  possession  of  eager  spec 
tators.  As  the  head  of  the  column  entered  the  door,  the 
large  and  noble  edifice  rang  with  the  grand  old  Jubilee 
Hymn,  sung  by  a  choir  in  the  organ  loft,  "  Blow  ye  the 
trumpet,  lloiv  —  the  gladly  solemn  sound.'1'1  The  spa 
cious  platform  was  promptly  filled  by  the  officers 
of  the  Assemblies,  and  by  such  of  the  Commissioners 
as  could  be  seated  there,  and  as  soon  as  the  remainder 
of  the  procession  was  disposed  of  in  the  body  of  the 
church,  the  outside  multitude  rushed  in,  and  instantly 
every  seat  and  standing  place  was  crowded  to  the  ut- 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  383 

most  capacity  of  the  building.  Hundreds  could  find 
no  room,  not  even  so  much  as  about  the  door.  On 
either  side  of  a  small  table  in  the  centre  of  the  plat 
form,  the  Moderators,  Drs.  Fowler  and  Jacobus,  sat, 
and  presided  by  turns.  It  was  now  about  11  o'clock, 
and  "  the  Coronation  Hymn  "  was  grandly  given  by 
the  entire  audience.  The  solid  mass  of  faces  in  pew, 
and  aisle,  and  doorway,  and  gallery,  was  most  impress 
ive  from  the  platform.  And  from  the  body  of  the 
house  the  array  of  Commissioners,  clerical  and  lay, 
among  the  foremost  men  in  Church  and  State,  and  met 
for  such  a  divine  purpose,  was  everywhere  noted  as  a 
rare  si^ht.  It  was  an  interesting  incident,  that  the  ven- 

O  O 

erable  David  Elliott,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  who  had  presided  in 
Philadelphia  at  the  Disruption,  stepped  forward  to  the 
platform,  and  took  his  seat  in  front  near  the  Moderator. 
His  appearance  was  greeted  with  applause. 

After  a  solemn  invocation  by  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Beatty, 
D.D.,  it  was  ordered,  on  motion  of  the  Rev.  G.  S.  Plum- 
ley,  that  the  following  message  be  sent  by  cable  to  the 
Chairman  of  the  Union  Committee  in  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland : 

"  To  tlw  Rev.  Hobt.  Buchanan,  D.D.,  Glasgow  : 

"  The  two  great  Presbyterian  Churches  in  America, 
this  day  united,  greet  the  Presbyterian  Churches  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  pray  that  they  also 

may  be  ONE. 

(Signed)  "  GEO.  H.  STUART, 

"  Jxo.  HALL, 
"Wai.  E.  DODGE, 

"  Committee. 

"Pittsburg,  Nov.  12th,  1869." 


384  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

Selections  of  Scripture  were  read,  after  which  the 
audience  joined  again  in  the  service  of  praise  —  "  Blest 
are  the  Sons  of  Peace" 

The  Kev.  Philemon  H.  Fowler,  D.D.,  Moderator  (N. 
S.),  made  the  opening  address.  He  said  : 

Well  may  one  feel  dumb  in  the  presence  of  this  overpowering  occasion. 
And  it  is  from  no  choice  of  my  own  that  I  break  silence  now.  Would  that  I 
could  sit  quietly  here,  and  wonder,  and  praise,  and  adore,  and  rejoice !  Is  there 
a  parallel  in  all  history  to  the  event  that  has  now  been  accomplished  ?  It  is 
easy  to  rend  asunder,  but  oh,  how  hard  to  reunite  !  You  may  splinter  the  rock, 
but  can  you  gather  together  the  scattered  fragments  and  solidify  them 
again  ?  You  may  easily  divide  the  Church,  but  can  you  so  easily  bind  it  to 
gether  again  ?  History  is  full  of  divisions  of  the  Church  —  only  here  and 
there  is  there  a  record  of  reunion  —  and  when  reunion  has  taken  place,  how 
comparatively  small  the  bodies  whose  parts  have  been  joined  together !  But 
here  we  are,  thousands  of  ministers,  thousands  of  congregations,  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  Christians,  flowing  together  by  one  impulse,  and  embracing 
each  other  in  what  we  hope  and  believe  will  be  an  indissoluble  Union.  [Ap 
plause.  ] 

And  now,  how  wonderful  the  unanimity  !  There  have  been  reunions  be 
fore,  but  how  many  and  what  large  fragments  have  stood  out  against  the  fu 
sion  !  How  small  the  fragments  that  withstand  the  glow  of  love  under  which 
we,  who  have  been  dissolved,  have  flown  together,  and  those  fragments  re 
maining  in  the  mass  will  be  dissolved  with  it.  [Applause.  ]  Think  of  it ! 
Of  a  hundred  and  twenty  Presbyteries  of  one  branch,  all,  without  an  excep 
tion,  pronouncing  in  favor  of  Reunion.  Think  of  it !  Out  of  a  hundred  and 
forty-four  Presbyteries  of  the  other  branch,  only  three  pronouncing  against 
the  Reunion. 

And  what  gladness  this  Reunion  gives  to  the  advanced  corps  of  the  sacra 
mental  host  of  God's  elect !  How  our  outposts  are  rejoicing  in  view  of  it  — 
our  missionary  brethren  at  home  and  abroad  ! 

Two  or  three  days  before  I  started  for  Pittsburg,  as  I  left  my  own  house, 
I  met  a  missionary  brother  from  Ceylon.  He  was  about  coming  to  see  me. 
He  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  another  missionary  brother  in  India. 

That  letter  will  best  speak  for  itself,  and  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  reading 
it. 

"DEAR  BRETHREN  [It  is  addressed  to  us]  —  I  have  been  reading  in  the 
New  York  Observer  and  in  the  Evangelist  the  accounts  of  the  meetings  of 
the  two  General  Assemblies.  In  view  of  what  has  been  done,  and  what  now 
appears  may  be  done  in  the  future,  I  can  say,  with  an  overflowing  heart,  '  Let 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  385 

everything'  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord. '  I  cannot  express  the  degree 
of  pleasure  that  I  experienced  on  reading  the  proposition  to  raise  the  sum  of 
five  minions  of  dollars  as  a  thank-offering,  to  which  I  gladly  contribute  my 
mite,  on  the  principle  laid  down  in  Malachi. 

' '  I  hope  that  the  one  hundred  dollars  in  gold,  accompanying  this,  will 
prove  a  mustard-seed  from  which  a  gigantic  tree  may  spring  up,  with  extended 
branches  studded  with  golden  mites,  that  will  bear  five  millions  of  dollars. 
The  thousands  connected  with  the  Presbyterian  portion  of  Zion  can  easily 
collect  the  required  sum,  which,  with  earnest  prayer  and  more  ardent  conse 
cration,  will  bring  down  the  answer  to  the  Saviour' s  supplication  that  they 
all  may  be  one. 

"A  PRESBYTERIAN  ON  THE  FOREIGN  FIELD." 

And  here  is  the  donation,  converted  from  gold  into  currency,  and  amount 
ing  now  to  (me  hundred  and  twenty-eight  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents. 

This   was    greeted   with    loud   applause.      Turning 
then  to  Dr.  Jacobus,  he  said  : 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER  MODERATOR,  —  May  we  not,  before  I  take  my  seat, 
perform  a  simple  act  symbolical  of  the  Union  which  has  taken  place  between 
these  two  branches  of  the  Church.  Let  us  clasp  hands. 

This  challenge  was  instantly  responded  to.  The 
Moderators  promptly  grasped  each  other's  hands, 
"amidst  prolonged  and  deafening  applause."  The 
Doxology  to  the  Old  Hundredth  was  then  sung 
with  a  hearty  good  will,  the  great  audience  standing,  — 
"  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow" 

Dr.  Jacobus  then,  alluding  to  the  joining  of  hands, 
said: 

These  are  the  nuptials  of  the  Churches  which  we  represent.  Then,  I  am 
sure,  my  brethren,  that  the  Great  Apostle  and  High  Priest  of  our  profession, 
Jesus  Christ,  officiates  at  the  wedlock.  And,  in  His  name,  I  would  put  the 
question  just  now  —  just  here,  and  say,  "  If  there  be  any  person  present  who 
knows  of  any  reason,  just  and  sufficient,  why  these  parties  may  not  be  law 
fully  united,  let  him  speak,  or  ever  after  hold  his  peace."  [Applause.] 

And  I  say  to  you,  venerable  father  [addressing  Dr.  David  Elliott],  who  were 
the  organ  and  instrument  in  Philadelphia,  of  the  church  I  represent,  at  the 
25 


386  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

parting  asunder  of  those  that  were  yesterday  separate  branches  of  our  Pres 
byterian  body,  —  Do  you  know  of  any  reason,  just  and  sufficient,  why  these 
parties  may  not  be  lawfully  united  ? 

Dr.  Elliott. —  I  do  not,  sir.     [Applause,  and  cries  of  good,  good.} 

George  II.  Stuart.  —  "  Whom  God  hath  joined  together,  let  not  man  put 
asunder."  [Prolonged  applause.] 

Dr.  Jacobus  [continuing]  — In  the  name  of  God,  Amen  !  [Amens,  in  the 
audience.  ] 

When  we  met  together  on  another  platform,  in  the  great  commercial 
metropolis,  six  months  ago,  we  looked  with  happy  anticipations  to  this  hour 
— this  solemn,  impressive,  eventful  hour.  May  we  not  say  the  hour  has 
come  ?  May  we  not  add  with  all  reverence,  the  hour  has  come  that  the  Son  of 
Man  may  be  glorified,  and  that  these  kernels  of  wheat,  that  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  die  only  that  they  may  not  abide  alone,  but  that  they  may 
bring  forth  much  fruit  ? 

The  Presbyteries  have  spoken  from  Maine  to  California,  and  from  across 
the  Pacific,  from  China  and  from  India,  and  they  have  sent  up,  with  such 
signal  and  marvellous  unanimity  as  only  God  himself  could  bring  about,  as 
we  believe,  their  affirmative  response  to  the  Plan  of  Reunion.  Three  Presby 
ters  of  your  body,  three  Presbyteries  of  our  body,  brethren  good  and  true  and 
loyal,  and  who  will  be  faithful  in  the  Reunited  body,  as  I  verily  believe,  yet 
having,  with  us,  the  right  of  private  judgment,  have  said  No.  But  this  cle 
ment  of  dissent  is  not  an  element  of  antagonism.  Where  could  there  have 
been  less  of  dissent  ? 

We  stand  here  on  symbolic  ground,  near  where  these  beautiful  rivers  run  into 
each  other.  They  run  into  each  oilier,  I  say,  — the  Allegheny  into  the  Mo- 
nongahela,  and  the  Monongahela  into  the  Allegheny.  You  shall  see  just  at 
the  confluence  a  slight  difference  in  the  currents,  but  only  for  a  little  while. 
You  shall  see  more  of  it  in  stormy  times,  when  there  come  rushing  down  the 
banks  of  the  Monongahela  the  tributaries  to  that  stream.  But  how  shortly 
the  waters  of  the  Allegheny  —  as  the  name  imports,  "clear,  running  waters  " 
—  wash  away  all  the  rnuddiness,  and  the  united  stream  makes  the  Ohio  — 
"  the  beautiful  river."  And  the  Monongahela  —  as  the  name  imports,  "the 
river  of  crumbling  banks"  —  that  symbolizes  the  situation.  The  crumbling 
banks  of  prejudice  and  alienation,  and  suspicion  and  strife,  on  both  sid&i,  have 
muddied  the  current  for  a  while,  and  muddy  it  yet,  perhaps,  a  little,  just  at 
the  point  of  union.  But  pass  on  a  few  steps,  and  the  clear  running  water, 
which  is  symbolic  in  all  the  Scriptures  of  the  river  of  the  water  of  life,  purifies 
the  stream.  When  the  spring-tide  comes  ;  when  the  icy  bands  of  winter  are 
melted  away ;  when  the  snows  upon  the  hills  are  dissolved  —  then  the  rivers 
rush  impetuously  into  each  other's  arms  and  bosom,  and  plow  deeper  the  chan 
nel  of  ths  united  stream,  and  flow  down  together  to  the  Father  of  Waters. 

And  with  our  representative  system,  and  our  free  principles,  and  our  unex- 
clusive  ecclesiastical  polity,  we  claim  to  be  a  great  American  Church — that 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  387 

may  properly  be  the  great  American  Church  —  if  we  understand  the  situation 
and  accept  it,  and  put  our  energies  into  it,  and  go  forth  on  all  our  frontiers, 
and  through  all  the  States,  to  evangelize  the  people.  And  this  day  this  Be- 
union  is  the  great  bugle-blast,  calling  upon  all  the  brethren  of  the  Presbyte 
rian  family  to  come  together  —  to  have  their  forces  massed  into  one  —  all  of 
them,  North,  South,  East,  and  West — however  they  may  choose  to  sing, 
whatever  forms  they  may  choose  to  observe,  adopting  with  us  the  doctrines  of 
our  Confession  and  the  polity  of  our  Church,  that  we  may  be  one,  as  Jesus 
has  prayed  that  we  may  be  one.  [Applause.  ] 

Yes,  my  brethren,  this  reunited  body  is  a  Church  for  missionary  work. 
With  five  thousand  ministers  nearly,  with  half  a  million  of  members  nearly, 
having  contributed  the  last  year  nearly  eight  millions  of  dollars  —  too  much 
of  it  expended,  perhaps,  in  matters  not  closely  connected  with  the  multiplica 
tion  of  sanctuaries,  and  the  sending  abroad  of  the  living  missionaries.  But 
the  money  is  here,  and  it  is  at  the  command  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
\ve  believe  that  this  union  is  accomplished  by  the  order  of  God,  for  the  most 
enlarged  results.  That  symbolical  transaction  recorded  by  the  prophet  Zech- 
ariah  - —  might  it  not  have  intimated  what  we  have  heard  to-day  from  the 
missionary  stations,  in  sympathy  and  concert  with  this  great  movement? 
When  the  captive  exiles  had  set  to  work  to  rebuild  the  waste  places  of  Jeru 
salem,  they  were  ordered  to  take  the  gold  and  silver  brought  from  heathen 
Babylon,  not  so  much  for  the  rebuilding,  as  to  make  of  the  precious  metals  a 
triple  crown  for  the  head  of  Joshua,  the  great  representative  and  type  of  the 
High  Priest  of  our  profession,  "  to  be  a  memorial,"  it  is  said,  "in  the  temple 
of  the  Lord."  "  And"  it  is  added,  "  they  tlwt  are  afar  off  shall  come  and  build 
in.  the  temple  of  the  Lord." 

But  to-day  we  keep  high  festival  in  this  city.  Blessed  be  God,  we  have  had 
the  Christian  Passover,  when  Jesus  Christ  died  at  Jerusalem.  And  we  have 
had  the  Christian  Pentecost  in  part,  as  we  are  to  have  it  in  fuller  measure  in 
the  future.  And  was  not  this  the  condition  of  the  advent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ? 
"When  they  were  all,  with  one  accord,  in  one  place,  suddenly  there  came  a 
sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  place 
where  they  were  sitting."  Even  so  now  come,  blessed  Spirit  of  grace,  and 
truth,  and  promise,  in  a  second  glorious  Advent  that  shall  bring  about  the 
great  Feast  for  which  the  Christian  Church  waits  —  the  festival  of  which  the 
prophet  Zechariah  has  sung  —  when  from  all  lands,  all  people,  and  tongues, 
and  tribes  shall  come  up  to  Jerusalem  to  keep  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  — 
the  great  closing  feast  of  the  year,  —  when  all  the  crops,  and  all  the  vintage 
shall  have  been  gathered  in ;  and  it  shall  be  the  great  Harvest  Home,  which 
the  Church  yet  looks  for,  the  Harvest  Home  of  the  world.  [Applause.  ] 

Those  who  have  had  to  do  with  this  important  transaction,  have  some  of 
them,  already  gone  to  glory ;  others,  who  have  borne  the  work  and  burden  of 
their  day  in  the  matter,  are  still  here  to  pray  with  us,  and  to  rejoice  in  God. 
Men  have  said  meanwhile,  "  Protestantism  is  a  failure  ;  "  and  a  Bishop  in  the 


388  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

Church  where  that  statement  was  made  answered  it  well,  when  he  said,  that, 
coming  out  of  his  rural  home  one  day,  he  saw  an  owl  perched  on  the  limb  of  a 
tree,  winking,  and  blinking,  and  screeching,  and  what  do  you  think  he  said  ? 
' '  Daylight  is  a,  failure !  "  [Laughter. ]  No,  my  hearers,  Protestantism  is  not 
a  failure.  And  Presbyterianism  is  the  pure  essence  of  Protestantism,  and  we 
have  it  in  its  simplest  form  —  with  the  Bible  and  the  living  minister  —  to  go 
through  all  our  land,  and  through  all  lands  in  all  the  world. 

Diplomacy  can  alter  the  boundaries  of  States;  war  can  reconstruct  the 
map  of  continents ;  science  can  tunnel  granite  peaks,  and  connect  the  terri 
tories  on  either  side.  But  it  is  the  function  and  prerogative  of  Divine  Grace 
to  overcome  prejudices  and  alienations 'and  suspicions,  and  to  shed  a  sweet 
influence  upon  the  minds  of  men,  and  to  turn  them  as  the  rivers  of  waters  are 
turned,  BO  that  we  all  may  be  one,  as  our  blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has 
prayed.  So  let  it  be.  Amen  !  [Applause.] 

Tlie  audience  united  in  singing  the  Hymn  — 

"  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  Love." 

Dr.  Musgrave  then  took  the  platform  and  said : 

ADDRESS   OF   THE  REV.  DR.  MUSGRAVE. 

Thank  God  for  this  hour !  and  for  the  privilege  of  being  present  on  this 
occasion  !  How  marvellous  a  change  !  How  great  a  contrast  between  18C9 
and  1837-538 !  As  a  Calvinist,  I  must  believe  that  everything  has  been  or 
dained  of  God,  so  that  I  believe  that  our  separation  was  the  will  of  God,  as 
our  Reunion  is.  But,  sir,  we  have  been  accustomed  to  distinguish  between 
the  permissive  and  the  efficient  will  of  God.  [Applause.]  And  that  is  the 
logical  method  of  solving  a  great  many  difficulties  which  embarrass  Armin- 
ians.  [Laughter.] 

I  believe  that  this  Reunion  has  been  brought  about  by  the  efficient,  effi 
cacious,  gracious  will  of  God.  [Applause.]  I  do  not  believe  it  is  possible 
that  anything  less  than  an  Almighty  Power  could  have  produced  this  result. 
When  we  remember  our  antecedents  and  the  materials  of  which  (I  only  speak 
of  the  Old  School),  when  we  think  only  of  the  materials  of  which  we  are  com 
posed,  it  is  marvellous  [laughter] ,  it  is  almost  miraculous  [renewed  laughter] 
that  we  should  have  been  brought  together  so  trustingly  and  lovingly. 
[Laughter.]  Well,  I  am  constrained  to  say  that  I  yielded  to  nothing  short  of 
the  conviction  that  this  thing  is  of  God,  and  is  in  accordance  with  His  will ! 
Now,  sir,  I  believe  that  this  Reunion  will  be  permanent ! 

Now,  after  a  separation  of  more  than  thirty  years,  we  are  agreed  to  come 
together  again.  It  puts  me  in  mind  of  a  remark  made  by  a  good  Quaker, 
whose  wife,  on  one  occasion,  was  disposed  to  quarrel  —  well,  there  are  ladies 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  389 

here,  and  I  don't  like  to  tell  the  story  —  but  she  was  anything  but  sweet 
tempered  ;  but  the  husband  of  the  old  lady  would  say  to  her,  "My  dear,  it 
is  not  worth  while  for  you  and  me  to  quarrel,  for  we  will  have  to  make  it  up 
af  terwards. "  And  so  there  is  no  use  in  these  two  churches  quarrelling ;  and 
I  think  now,  historically,  that  we  have  been  taught  this  lesson  —  that  it  is 
not  worth  our  while,  in  the  future,  ever  to  quarrel,  for  we  have  to  make  it 
up  again.  [Laughter.  ]  Well,  sir,  as  I  believe  this  Reunion  is  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  God,  I  have -given  it  my  whole  soul,  and  I  rejoice  in  the 
belief  that  God  will  bless  it,  and  make  it  a  blessing  to  our  country  and  to 
the  world.  But,  Moderators,  we  must  be  humble ;  we  must  be  prayerful, 
we  must  be  devoted  to  our  Master's  cause  and  glory,  that  we  may  have  His 
continued  favor  —  for  without  his  blessing,  our  means,  our  numerical 
strength,  our  intelligence  and  our  wealth  will  avail  nothing.  Oh,  let  us  lie  low 
at  his  feet,  and  implore  God  to  restrain  us  from  pride,  and  ambition,  and 
self-seeking,  and  enable  us  as  his  servants  to  seek  his  honor  and  the  pros 
perity  of  his  Church. 

I  feel,  sir,  that  my  work  is  nearly  done,  and  in  a  few  months,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  by  my  brethren,  I  expect  to  retire  from  the  official  position  I  have 
occupied,  and  resign  my  place  to,  I  trust,  abler  hands.  But  in  my  retirement 
I  shall  not  cease  to  pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem.  I  shall  watch  while  I 
live,  with  intense  interest,  for  the  developments  of  God's  Providence,  and  the 
progress  of  His  Church.  It  is  now  nearly  half  a  century  since  I  have  been  in 
communion,  uninterruptedly,  with  this  church,  as  a  private  member,  and  as 
minister  of  ttie  gospel,  and  I  have  endeavored  to  promote  its  interests. 
But  the  men  of  my  generation  have  nearly  all  passed  away,  and  the  few 
of  us  that  remain  will  soon  disappear ;  but  while  we  have  life  and  breath, 
we  will  pray  God  to  bless  this  good  old  Presbyterian  Church,  and  make  it  a 
blessing  to  this  nation  and  to  the  world.  Let  us  go  to  work  with  a  will ; 
with  energy,  with  perseverance ;  and  let  this  spirit  of  activity  pervade  the 
whole  Church.  I  would  close  by  repeating  an  expression  that  I  had  occasion 
to  use  a  little  while  ago :  Let  the  bugle  sound  the  advance  along  the  entire 
line ;  and  let  us,  as  one  united  phalanx,  move  forward  in  the  name  and  for 
the  sake  of  the  glory  of  Christ,  and  the  spiritual  conquest  of  this  and  all  other 
lands.  [Long-continued  applause.] 

DR.  WILLIAM  ADAMS'S   ADDEESS. 

I,  too,  thank  God  that  I  am  permitted  to  see  this  day.  Many  have  desired 
to  see  it,  but  have  been  denied  the  sight.  Four  of  the  Joint  Committee  as 
originally  constituted — Brainerd,  Krebs,  Gurley,  and  Brown  —  have  gone  to 
their  reward.  If  the  spirits  of  the  departed  are  permitted  to  take  cognizance 
of  affairs  upon  the  earth,  I  have  no  doubt  these  brethren  are  bending  over  us, 
and  sharing  in  our  joy. 

"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest."     "  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  mar- 


390  PKESBYTEKIAN   REUNION. 

vellous  in  our  eyes."  None  but  those  who  were  originally  on  that  Committee 
can  comprehend  all  the  difficulties,  misgivings,  and  apprehensions  which  they 
felt  when,  by  no  seeking  of  their  own,  they  were  brought  together  for  their 
first  conference  on  a  cold,  wintry  day.  Those  difficulties  and  misgivings  are 
now  behind  us.  To-day,  after  many  wrestlings  with  fear,  we  say,  as  the 
angel  to  the  patriarch  of  old,  "  Let  me  go,  for  the  morning  breaketh."  We 
have  crossed  the  ford  Jabbok :  alienated  brethren  have  met :  Esau  and  Jacob 
falling  upon  each  other's  neck,  kissing  and  weeping. 

It  is  a  beautiful  custom  in  the  Moravian  Church  —  I  was  quite  startled  by 
its  novelty  on  the  first  occasion,  when  Dr.  Muhlenberg  came  round  from  one 
side  of  the  Communion  table  and  gave  me  his  hand,  —  at  a  certain  point  in 
the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  for  each  communicant  to  grasp  the 
hand  of  his  neighbor,  saying  "  Here  is  my  heart,  and  here  is  my  hand."  I  did 
not  know,  Messrs.  Moderators,  when  you  joined  your  hands  just  now  in  that 
symbolic  act  of  Union,  but  that  you  were  about  to  propose,  after  the  Mora 
vian  method,  that  the  whole  constituency  of  these  Assemblies  should  repeat 
the  act.  [A  voice,  "  It's  not  too  late  to  do  it  yet."  Scarcely  had  Dr.  Adams 
uttered  the  sentence,  when  the  whole  audience  caught  the  idea  and  enacted  it 
most  heartily,  every  one  taking  his  neighbor  by  the  hand,  and  repeating  in 
many  instances  the  words,  "  Here  is  my  heart,  and  here  is  my  hand."] 

It  is  not  often,  I  am  told,  that  here  in  Pittsburg  the  sun  and  the  moon  are 
seen  to  shine  so  brightly  as  during  these  passing  days  and  nights.  I  am  not 
superstitious ;  but  I  am  reminded  that  on  a  certain  occasion  Luther  looked 
out  of  the  window,  and  said,  ' '  I  see  a  sign  in  the  heavens :  the  firmament 
upheld  by  no  visible  pillars."  These  are  the  halcyon  days  of  which  Virgil 
sang,  when  "birds  of  calm,  with  silver  plumage,  sat  and  swung  on  the  pliant 
wave." 

Perhaps  the  crowds  of  people  who  hung  upon  our  procession  to  this  place 
have  been  ready  to  ask,  "  What  does  all  this  mean  ?  "  "What  was  the  cause 
of  this  old  division  ?  "  and  ' '  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  present  Reunion  ?  ' ' 
The  first  thing  which  this  occasion  signifies  is  a  magnanimous  forgetfulness 
of  the  past.  We  forgive  and  forget  even  as  God  "remembers  our  sins  no 
more  forever."  When  fractured  limbs  are  in  the  very  act  of  knitting  to 
gether,  it  is  no  time  to  undo  the  bandages  and  scrape  the  bones.  Let  the 
things  which  are  past  sink  like  lead  in  the  great  waters. 

For  the  future,  this  occasion  means  liberality  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word. 
Unessential  differences  will  not  be  allowed  to  divide  us ;  diversities  will 
result  in  harmony ;  and  as  for  narrowness  and  exclusiveness,  we  mean  to 
show  that  scholarship  and  piety  and  the  whole  spirit  of  the  New  Testament, 
as  expressed  in  our  symbols,  by  this  act  of  union,  publicly  rebuke  them. 

The  occasion  means,  moreover,  progress  in  our  work  as  a  Church.  In 
recent  debates  and  negotiations  we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  refer  to 
"our  Standards."  The  word  Standard  may  be  used  in  several  different 
senses.  Here  in  Pittsburg,  where  they  manufacture  iron  so.  extensively,  it 


TILE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  391 

may  moan  an  upright  pillar,  stiff  and  hard  and  cold,  such  as  is  used  to  hold 
up  the  deck  of  a  boat  or  the  floor  of  a  warehouse.  There  is  another  sense  in 
which  we  may  use  the  word  Standard,  as  a  symbol  of  our  faith  and  polity. 
It  is  the  banner  which  we  raise  at  the  head  of  our  line.  It  is  not  something 
on  which  we  are  to  stand  motionless  and  still,  as  if  it  could  bear  us  up,  but 
something  which,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  are  to  bear  onwards  from 
conquering  to  conquer.  It  has  been  asked  what  are  we  to  do  henceforth 
with  those  old-time  and  familiar  designations.  Old  School  and  New  School.  A 
very  simple  arrangement  has  been  suggested  —  even  that,  as  Old  and  New 
Schools  are  brought  together  on  this  occasion,  the  initial  letters  0  and  N  should 
be  brought  together  also,  leaving  the  two  SS  on  either  flank,  and  we  have  that 
expressive  word  SONS  — -  sons  of  one  and  the  same  Presbyterian  Church  — 
sons  of  God  in  one  household  of  faith.  The  old  blue  banner  of  Presbyterian- 
ism,  which  in  former  times  was  borne  by  brave  and  godly  men  over  the  hills 
and  heather  of  Scotland,  with  its  new  armorial  quarterings,  Learning,  Lib 
erty,  Charity,  Magnanimity,  Piety,  let  us  lift  it  higher,  and  bear  it  on,  in  the 
name  and  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  our  great  work  of  the  future. 

We  were  all  struck  with  the  beautiful  symbolism  of  the  place  where  we 
are  assembled,  the  Allegheny  and  the  Monongahela  meeting  to  form  the 
Ohio.  That  figure  is  daguerreotyped  on  all  our  memories.  It  has  occurred  to 
me  that  the  resemblance  might  be  carried  yet  further.  The  Ohio  has  many 
tributaries.  I  cannot  recall  them  all.  But,  as  it  runs  to  the  sea,  the  Wabash, 
and  the  Cumberland,  and  the  Tennessee  flow  into  it,  and  swell  the  flood.  One 
speaker  said  this  morning  that  we  should  never  see  another  scene  like  this.  I 
hope  and  expect  that  we  may.  We  cannot  forget  our  Presbyterian  brethren 
of  the  South,  or  other  organizations  having  our  own  faith  and  polity ;  and  we 
trust  the  time  will  come,  when,  after  many  divisions  and  dispersions,  there  will 
be  flowings  together  of  many  others  into  one  Church  of  augmented  numbers 
and  vigor  and  joy.  Those  who  live  long  enough  will,  as  I  believe,  see  grander 
and  happier  occasions  even  than  this.  I  was  somewhat  afraid  just  now, 
when  my  excellent  friend  and  brother,  Dr.  Musgrave,  announced  his  purpose 
ere  long  to  resign  his  official  position,  that  he  was  about  to  speak  of  his  antic 
ipated  departure  to  a  higher  world.  Now,  some  of  us  have  a  special  favor  to 
ask  of  Dr.  Musgrave,  Dr.  McGill,  and  these  other  fathers  in  the  Church : 
Don't  pray  Nunc  dimittis  too  hard.  We  greatly  desire  that  you  should  live  to 
be  the  objects  of  respect  and  love  ;  to  see  for  yourselves  the  happy  results  of 
the  union  now  consummated,  and  to  take  part  in  other  reunions  equally 
important  and  blessed.  Our  hearts  are  enlarged  the  more  we  love.  It  seems 
a  little  thing  to  advise  or  to  do,  but  let  us,  instead  of  being  kept  apart  by  any 
chevaux  de  frise  of  prejudice,  cultivate  each  other's  acquaintance,  assured  that 
the  more  we  know  each  other  the  more  we  shall  confide  and  love. 

Our  eloquent  friend,  Dr.  Musgrave,  has  just  reminded  us  that  he  was  a 
Calvinist,  and  as  such  a  believer  in  the  "  f oreordination  of  whatsoever  comes 
to  pass."  He  haa  reminded  us  also  of  the  distinction  recognized  in  our  theo- 


392  PKESBYTERIAJST   REUNION. 

logical  books  between  the  permissive  and  the  efficient  will  of  God.  I  do  not 
know  that  from  my  position  I  should  have  ventured  to  emphasize  this  distinc 
tion,  since,  if  my  memory  serves  me,  we  are  accustomed  to  refer  to  God's 
permissive  foreordination  such  events  only  as  are  especially  mysterious,  like 
the  introduction  of  sin  into  the  world.  But  since  my  brother  has  referred  to 
the  disruption  as  somelwut  permitted  and  so  foreordained,  I  may  add,  concern 
ing  this  matter  of  pacification  and  reconcilement,  it  is  so  obviously  in  accord 
ance  with  God's  positive  and  ' '  efficacious  "  purpose,  that  I  shall  not  be  sus 
pected  of  anything  extreme  in  New  School  Theology  if  I  should  say  that  we 
have  all  been  willing  to  have  a  part  in  its  accomplishment,  giving  ' '  great 
diligence  to  make  our  calling  and  election  sure."  [Applause.] 

Dr.  Adams  here  referred  to  the  good  service  done  by  some  of  the  original 
members  of  the  Joint  Committee,  whom  it  would  be  invidious  to  mention  by 
name,  but  who,  amid  manifold  embarrassments,  contributed  so  much  to  this 
day's  happy  issue,  and  he  concluded  by  a  summons  to  all  Presbyterians  to  lift 
aloft  their  standard,  having  upon  it  Christ's  name  and  crown,  and  to  bear  it 
down  all  the  rivers,  over  all  the  prairies,  up  and  down  the  slopes  of  the  moun 
tains,  all  over  our  own  land,  and  into  heathen  lands,  so  that  on  earth  and  in 
heaven  there  may  be  joy  because  of  this  day. 

At  the  close  of  Dr.  Adams's  address,  the  Rev.  Edwin 
F.  Hatfield,  D.D.,  was  called  on  to  offer  prayer,  which 
he  did  with  great  fervency. 

It  was  then  moved  by  the  Rev.  Ravaud  K.  Rodgers, 
D.D.,  that  the  cordial  thanks  of  the  Reunited  Church 
be  returned  to  the  members  of  the  Joint  Committee, 
through  whose  labors  of  love,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
this  great  and  glorious  result  has  been  brought  about. 
This  Resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 

The  REV.  DE.  SAMUEL  W.  FISHER  then  introduced  a 
paper,  which  he  read,  closing  with  the  resolutions  follow 
ing. 

FATHERS  AND  BRETHREN,  —  It  is  not  my  intention  so  much  to  make  a 
speech  as  it  is  to  read  a  short  document.  I  was  directed  by  the  Joint  Com 
mittee  on  Union  to  prepare  a  document  of  this  kind,  to  be  read  on  this  oc 
casion.  The  sentiments,  I  doubt  not,  will  be  approved.  Its  defects  and 
faults  are  my  own. 

(Dr.  Fisher  was  crowded  with  duties  of  the  Com- 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  393 

mittee  of   Arrangements,  of  which   he  was  Chairman, 
and  was  almost  disabled  by  a  severe  cold.) 

In  the  Providence  of  God,  the  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America  have  to-day  become  one  —  in  form  and  in 
fact  —  one  Church.  This  is  an  event  so  unparalleled  in  the  ecclesiastical  his 
tory  of  this  country,  and  almost  of  the  world,  as  to  attract  attention  and  awa 
ken  expectation  of  corresponding  results  among  all  those  who  love  the  cause 
of  the  Redeemer. 

This  event  is  specially  significant  of  the  inspiring  presence  and  unifying 
power  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  To  that  great  body  of  Christians,  this  day  united 
in  one  ecclesiastical  organization,  it  constitutes  an  era  in  their  history  most 
memorable  and  auspicious ;  memorable,  as  a  most  triumphant  exhibition 
to  all  men  of  the  power  of  Christian  love  ;  auspicious,  not  as  an  era  of  deca 
dence  and  torpor  and  death,  but  of  enlightened  progress  in  the  great  work, 
to  accomplish  which  Christ  has  constituted  the  Church  militant.  It  speaks 
with  the  voice  of  God  to  our  profoundest  gratitude,  demanding  the  expres 
sion  of  that  gratitude  not  merely  in  words,  but  in  deeds,  in  heroic  Christ 
ian  deeds  answering  to  the  greatness  of  the  Divine  Goodness. 

In  this  event,  there  are  outflashings  of  the  Divine  Spirit  to  make  this 
Church  a  more  signal,  efficient  co-worker  with  Christ  in  the  evangelization  of 
this  continent  and  the  world.  It  summons  us,  while  we  maintain  that  great 
system  of  truth  which  Paul  so  luminously  unfolded,  and  which  our  Church 
has  so  gloriously  upheld  through  all  the  centuries,  to  give  ourselves,  OUT 
sons  and  daughters,  and  our  wealth,  more  perfectly  to  the  work  of  saving 
souls. 

Let  us,  then,  in  humble  dependence  upon  our  dear  Redeemer,  with  deep 
humility  in  view  of  our  past  inefficiency  and  present  unworthiness,  and  as  an 
expression  of  our  devout  gratitude  to  Him  who  has  brought  this  once  dis 
severed  and  now  united  Church  up  to  this  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  sig 
nalize  this  most  blessed  and  joyful  Union  with  an  offering  in  some  good  de 
gree  commensurate  with  the  pecuniary  gifts  He  has  bestowed  upon  us. 
Therefore,  be  it 

Evolved,  By  the  ministers,  elders,  and  members  of  the  Church,  here  as 
sembled,  as  in  the  presence  and  behalf  of  the  entire  body  of  the  disciples  con 
nected  with  us  in  this  land,  and  of  those  beloved  missionaries  on  foreign 
shores,  now  meditating  our  action  with  tender  and  prayerful  interest,  that  it  is 
incumbent  on  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  —  one 
in  organization,  one  in  faith,  one  in  effort  —  to  make  a  special  offering  to  the 
treasury  of  our  Lord  of  one  million  of  dollars ;  and  we  pledge  ourselves  first  of 
all  to  seek,  in  our  daily  petitions,  the  blessing  of  God  to  make  this  resolution 
effectual.  And  second,  that  we  will,  with  untiring  perseverance  and  personal 
effort,  endeavor  to  animate  the  whole  Church  with  the  like  purpose,  and  to 


394:  PKESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

secure  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  work  before  the  third  Thursday  of 
May,  1871. 

I  have  another  resolution,  Mr.  Moderator,  and  I  wish  to  state  that  the  sum 
which  is  named  here  is  one  that  can  be  easily  altered.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  the  sum  should  be  five  millions  of  dollars.  [  Applause.  J  Five  millions 
of  dollars  —  and  I  am  sure  that  when  we  look  upon  the  Church  as  it  is  to-day, 
its  wealth,  and  what  it  is  able  to  do  with  Christian  self-denial,  this  sum  is 
small  enough.  Most  readily  would  I  place  this  in  the  resolution ;  but  the 
matter  is  wholly  at  your  disposal.  The  fact  is,  it  is  easy  for  us  to  talk,  but 
hard  work  to  act ;  and  in  my  ears  all  this  morning  one  text  is  ringing,  and 
that  is  my  speech  on  this  occasion,  in  moving  this  resolution.  l>  Forgetting 
the  things  that  are  behind  and  reaching  forth  to  those  things  that  are  before, 
let  us  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  our  high  calling."  This  prize 
we  are  pressing  after  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  That  is  my  speech ;  for  we 
come  here  to-day  to  bury  all  our  past  suspicions,  enmities,  and  jealousies ;  to 
forget  them,  and  bury  them  in  the  ground  forever. 

We  come  here  not  only  to  forget  the  past  in  that  respect,  but  to  forget  it 
in  the  greatness  of  the  hour.  We  propose  that  the  doings  of  this  Church  in 
the  future  shall  be  related  to  the  doings  of  this  Church  in  the  past,  as  the 
income  and  work  of  the  United  States  Government  of  America,  in  1869,  are 
related  to  the  income  and  work  of  that  government  in  the  year  1789. 

There  are  several  other  speakers  to  follow  me,  and  I  do  not  propose  to 
detain  you.  This  is  a  family  gathering,  and  I  have  one  thing  which  I  simply 
wish  to  say.  I  said  there  are  some  things  which  we  want  to  forget,  but  there 
are  some  things  we  will  not  forget.  We  will  not  forget,  Mr.  Moderator  [turn 
ing  to  Dr.  Jacobus],  when  we  were  boys  together,  when  we  sat  together,  and 
were  reared  together  in  the  same  Church,  and  under  the  training  of  the 
same  ministers.  We  will  not  forget  when  we  sat  together  at  the  feet  of 
Alexander,  and  Miller,  and  Breckenridge,  and  others  who  have  gone  to  their 
reward,  as  well  as  Dr.  Hodge,  who  still  remains.  We  will  not  forget  that 
while  we  were  in  our  course  in  the  Seminary  the  stroke  came  which  sent  you 
in  one  direction  and  me  in  another,  and  from  that  time  until  to-day  we  have 
never  met  as  members  of  one  church.  And  now  I  am  too  full  for  utterance. 
To-day  we  are  brethren  in  one  household  of  faith.  We  are  brought  together, 
and  memory  bridges  the  thirty  years  that  have  gone  by  since  that  hour  of  di 
vergence,  and  enables  us  to  feel  that  the  same  warm  current  of  affection  is  in 
our  veins  now  as  flowed  in  them  then.  We  were  strangers  to  rivalry  and  sus 
picion  —  separated,  but  not  opposed ;  and  we  had  the  same  hopes  in  reference 
to  a  united  Church  in  the  future.  I  say  that  there  are  many  here  to-day  who 
will  remember  such  things  that  are  not  to  be  forgotten,  though  the  fact  of 
the  separation  is  past.  The  Union  has  come,  and  now  let  us  be  up  and  doing, 
forgetting  the  past,  and  with  Christian  earnestness  let  us  go  forward,  leaning 
on  God.  Let  us  carry  into  execution  a  resolution  something  like  this :  And 
furtfier. 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  395 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Stated  Clerics  be  directed  to  print  this  Eesolution  and 
append  to  it  the  names  of  the  Moderators,  the  Clerks,  and  the  Union  Com 
mittee,  and  the  members  of  the  Assemblies  just  dissolved,  and  send  it  to  all 
the  pastors  of  the  Churches." 

A  motion  was  made,  and  carried  unanimously,  to 
amend  the  first  resolution  so  as  to  make  the  thank- 
offering  to  be  raised  the  sum  of  $5,000,000  instead  of 
$1,000,000.  This  amendment  was  promptly  seconded 
by  DR.  JOHN  HALL,  of  New  York,  who  said : 

On  the  personal  side  of  this  august  transaction,  in  which  we  are  permitted 
to  take  our  part  to-day,  there  is  nothing,  if  there  had  been  anything,  left  for 
me  to  say.  I  was  not  in  the  Disunion,  and  I  have  not  shared  in  any  of  the 
feelings  incident  to  that  Disunion ;  and,  practically,  to  me  personally,  the 
lleunion  happily  effected  to-day  will  make  no  very  great  change. 

I  must,  therefore,  speak  of  the  public  aspect  of  this  transaction.  We  are 
here  to-day,  as  one  United  Presbyterian  Church,  by  the  grace  and  mercy  of 
God,  a  free  Church  in  a  free  land,  a  United  Church  in  a  United  country. 
[Applause.  ] 

There  are  at  this  moment  many  questions  being  raised  in  this  country  upon 
the  subject  of  the  administration  and  government  of  the  Church.  We  are 
not  bound  to  be  controversial,  and  I  suppose  we  should  not  »be,  in  any 
distinctive  sense.  We  shall,  however,  throw  some  light  upon  that  great 
question :  if  we  can  exhibit  the  spectacle  of  a  body  of  Christian  people, 
governed  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  a  form  of  government  that  in  its  aim 
is  analogous  to  the  government  of  the  State ;  that  aims  to  conform  the 
people  to  the  government  of  the  State ;  that  gives  full  play  to  individual 
conscience,  while  it  gives  full  expression  to  the  whole  ;  if  we  can  exhibit  to 
the  world  this  Church,  doing  its  work  in  saving  immortal  souls  —  then  we 
will  do  much  to  guide  the  inquiries,  and  shape  the  convictions  of  those  who 
ask  ' '  How  is  the  Church  to  be  governed ;  how  is  its  administration  to  be 
carried  on  ?  " 

At  this  moment  the  Sabbath,  which  is  so  dear  to  us,  is  perilled  in  some 
degree  over  this  land.  The  Sabbath,  like  its  Lord,  is  in  danger  of  being  got 
away  with.  The  multitude,  in  many  places,  are  crying  out,  u  Away  with 
it,"  as  the  multitude  in  olden  times  cried  concerning  Him.  And  when  the 
question  is  brought  before  courts  and  rulers,  it  happens  sometimes,  as  it  hap 
pened  in  His  case,  that  it  is  condemned  upon  the  ground  of  a  supposed  polit 
ical  expediency.  There  is  work  for  the  Church  in  holding  up  the  Sabbath, 
and  teaching  in  all  this  broad  America,  "Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy."  [Applause.] 


396  PEESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

From  the  immense  material  resources  of  this  great  land,  there  is  a  strong 
temptation  to  mammon-worship  among  us.  We  are  tempted  to  set  up  a 
great  golden  image,  and  to  call  upon  our  young  men  everywhere  to  fall  down 
and  worship  it.  There  is  nothing  that  will  save  the  young  men  from  this, 
but  the  Truth  of  God.  There  is  nothing  that  will  make  them  bold  and  fear 
less  confessors  of  the  truth,  but  the  truth  in  their  hearts ;  and  there  is 
nothing  that  will  strengthen  the  Church  to  do  her  duty  in  this  matter,  but 
the  truth.  And  this  united  Church,  if  she  would  be  faithful  to  her  King  and 
Head,  may  at  length  be  able  to  dash  to  pieces  this  idol.  This  selfishness 
of  the  world  can  only  be  held  in  check  by  holy  living,  and  holy  communion, 
and  Christian  unselfishness,  and  a  marked  magnanimity,  and  prayer  for  the 
blessing  of  the  Lord  upon  His  Church.  Fathers  and  Brethren,  let  us  show 
what  we  think  of  this  selfishness.  Let  us  show  what  we  think  of  it,  by  for 
getting  ourselves,  and  losing  ourselves  in  that  magnificent  enterprise  which 
He  sets  before  us,  when  He  gives  us  this  land  to  be  subdued  under  the  scep 
tre  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  day  He  makes  us  one. 

In  the  valleys  of  Switzerland,  where  the  people  are  isolated  and  apart,  in 
some  places,  owing  to  the  temperature,  they  sometimes  become  afflicted  with 
a  sad  and  frightful  disease.  It  is  said  that  the  only  cure  for  this  is  to  take 
them  out  of  these  valleys,  and  bring  them  to  a  higher  and  healthier  atmos 
phere.  Fathers  and  Brethren,  if  we  have  been  thus  isolated  by  this  seclu 
sion,  if  the  barriers  have  done  us  mischief,  God  breaks  them  down  to-day. 
He  permits  us  to  go  up  the  mountains,  where  we  have  not  been  before,  and 
we  may  breathe  a  purer  air.  Let  this  strengthen  us,  and  shed  a  healing 
influence  upon  us,  and  let  us  make  this  a  day  for  personal,  spiritual  devoted- 
ness  and  consecration  to  Christ,  remembering  the  promises  that  he  has  made 
unto  his  people. 

Many  years  ago,  when  I  was  a  pastor  in  another  land,  I  had  among  my 
parishioners  two  very  old  men  —  brothers.  Their  families  had  grown  up  very 
close  to  each  other.  l  In  their  middle  life  these  two  brothers  had  quarrelled. 
One  of  these  two  brothers  became  sick,  and  he  had  every  reason  to  believe 
that  he  would  die  in  the  course  of  a  little  time.  I  was  sent  for.  I  spoke, 
and  read,  and  prayed  with  him,  as  was  my  duty.  I  told  him  that  if  his 
repentance  was  sincere,  he  would  make  a  reconciliation  with  his  aged 
brother.  I  tell  you  it  was  a  hard  thing  to  bring  him  to  that  point,  even  now 
on  his  death-bed,  to  allow  me  to  send  for  his  brother.  And  then  I  had  to  go 
to  the  brother,  and  bring  him  to  the  same  point.  By  and  by,  the  consent  of 
the  old  man  was  obtained,  and  he  came  into  the  sick-room  of  his  brother, 
and  some  of  his  children,  and  his  brother's  children,  were  there,  and  the  old 
men  were  there  face  to  face.  "Brother!"  said  the  man,  sick  on  his  death 
bed.  ' '  Brother  ! "  said  the  old  man,  standing  by  his  side ;  and  neither  of 
them  could  say  any  more.  The  one  bent  down  upon,  and  kissed  the  other. 
They  kissed  as  little  children,  and  the  gray  hairs  of  the  two  old  men  mingled 
together.  They  put  their  arms  around  each  other,  and  lifted  up  their  voices 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  397 

and  wept ;  and  they  prayed  together  that  God  would  make  this  reconciliation 
permanent,  and  accept  it  through  Jesus  Christ ;  and  we  all  gave  thanks  to 
Almighty  God  again  and  again,  that  his  grace  —  his  grace  —  could  conquer 
such  strong  hatred. 

We  are  met  and  reconciled  to-day.  I  have  seen  many  tears  fall  to-day. 
These  are  gracious  days,  in  which  you  will  bury  forever  out  of  sight  all  the 
things  that  have  divided  and  disunited  you  heretofore.  Let  us  thank  God 
that  we  are  reconciled  here  to-day,  not  because  we  are  dying,  but  because 
we  are  living.  We  are  reconciled,  not  in  view  of  the  grave,  but  in  view  of 
the  battle-field  to  which  the  Lord  summons  us  to  fight,  the  right  against  the 
wrong,  to  fight  for  Christ  against  the  devil.  He  marshals  us  to  that  battle 
field.  The  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire  has  guided  us  into  this  large  and  wealthy 
place. 

Let  us  stand  up  for  the  pure,  holy  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and  for  pure  disci 
pline,  and  for  a  pure  and  Christian  life  ;  and  while  we  do  so  stand  up,  He,  to 
whom  the  silver  and  the  gold  belongs,  will  bless  us.  Let  us  not  trust  in 
riches,  but  take  our  stand  beside  the  cross,  lest  otherwise  we  transmute  our 
gold  into  dross.  I  have  special  pleasure  in  seconding  this  resolution,  and  I 
shall  have  special  pleasure  in.  making  it  a  real  and  glorious  fact. 

This  was  followed  by  the  address  of  HON.  WILLIAM 
STEONG,  now  of  the  Supreme  Court,  U.  S. 

I  cannot  speak.  My  heart  is  too  full,  and  I  have  no  words  with  which  to 
express  my  emotions.  I  cannot  attempt  to  describe  my  joy,  and  it  would  be 
vain  were  I  to  make  the  attempt. 

I  have  listened  to  all  that  has  been  said  this  morning,  and  I  have  rejoiced  • 
in  all  that  has  been  said.  I  have  appreciated  the  beautiful  symbols  —  the 
expressive  figures  —  by  which  the  union  of  these  two  great  bodies  has  been 
represented ;  and  yet  they  are  all  inadequate  to  express  my  feelings.  I  cannot 
think  of  the  junction  of  these  branches  of  the  Church  as  a  marriage,  simply 
because  we  are  too  near  of  kin  for  that,  and  always  have  been  too  near  of 
kin  for  that.  [Laughter.] 

Nor  are  we  in  all  respects  like  rivers,  for  we  have  not  different  sources ;  we 
have  one  source  in  God,  the  Father,  through  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  We 
have  the  same  spirit ;  we  are  mingling  into  one,  as  kindred  drops  from  one 
stream,  and  that  stream  is  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God.  I  can,  therefore, 
find  no  language  to  express  my  ideas  in  regard  to  this  union  of  the  church. 

We  have  been  accustomed  to  think  of  ourselves  as  different  bodies.  In  past 
days,  in  history,  there  were  persons  who  called  themselves  Old  School  Presby 
terians,  and  they  thought  they  could  see  certain  qualities  in  New  School  Pres 
byterians  not  according  to  their  taste  and  judgment ;  and  so  there  were  New 


398  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

School  Presbyterians  who  thought  they  saw  a  peculiar  stiffness  in  their  Old 
School  brethren. 

But  I  am  unable  to  discover  in  this  large  Assembly  a  single  Old  School 
Presbyterian,  or  a  single  New  School  Presbyterian.  No  man  can  say  of  him 
self  now,'"  I  am  an  Old  School  Presbyterian,"  or,  "I  am  a  New  School  Pm;- 
byterian."  [Applause.]  By  the  Articles  which  we  have  ratified  by  our  Pres 
byteries,  and  which  we  have  resolved,  in  both  Assemblies,  to  observe,  and  to 
be  of  binding  force,  we  are  all  Presbyterians,  members  of  the  "Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  "  —  one  spirit,  one  name,  one  purse. 
[Applause.]  This  union  calls  us  to  higher  work  than  ever. 

THE  HONORABLE  CHARLES  D.  DRAKE,  United  States 
Senator  from  Missouri,  Ruling  Elder,  next  addressed 
the  audience,  whose  attention  was  unflagging  to  the  end. 
He  said : 

Two  great  bodies  of  Christians  to-day  change  their  orbits,  and  merge  them 
into  one  —  doing  in  the  Christian  world  what  is  impossible  in  the  natural 
world,  that  great  constellations  should  change  their  orbits  and  run  together. 
When  they  change  their  orbits  in  the  natural  world  and  come  in  contact,  ruin 
and  desolation  is  the  result ;  but  here  these  two  great  Christian  constellations 
come  hereafter  to  have  a  common  orbit,  and  all  move  hereafter  forever  around 
the  great  central  Sun  of  the  Christian  system  —  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  My 
brethren,  let  us  not  forget  in  this  moment,  that  at  last  that  Sun  is  all  that 
binds  us  together.  His  name  on  the  first  page  of  the  New  Testament  stands 
for  ever  and  ever  as  the  glorious  centre  light  of  the  whole  Christian  system. 
The  angel  said,  ' '  They  shall  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people 
from  their  sins."  And  there,  in  that  name,  on  that  first  page  of  the  great 
word  of  God,  stands  the  Sun  of  the  Christian  system,  shedding  his  light  upon 
all  succeeding  generations,  and  at  last  to  gather  all  the  world  into  one  brother 
hood  in  Him.  And,  my  brethren,  let  us  not  forget,  oh,  let  us  not  forget,  that 
he  was  called  Jesus  because  he  was  to  save  his  people  from  their  sins.  He  saves 
us  to-day  as  individuals  from  our  sins ;  He  saves  us  to-day  as  churches  from 
the  sins  that  have  marked  our  pathway  in  the  days  of  our  separation,  to  be 
remembered  against  us,  according  to  his  promise,  no  more  forever.  Brethren, 
let  us  not  imagine  that  this  Reunion  can  take  place  and  can  go  along  from  the 
very  beginning  without  some  friction.  I  look  for  no  such  thing.  But  let  us 
l)e  careful  what  use  we  put  the  friction  to.  There  is  not  a  single  cog  or  pinion 
in  this  watch  that  I  hold  in  my  hand,  but  was  once  so  rough  that  if  you  at 
tempted  to  put  them  together,  they  never  could  have  been  brought  to  work. 
Friction  was  necessary  to  polish  them,  and  to  make  them  smooth  and  fit  to 
work  together.  Let  us  be  sure  that  in  this  reunited  Church,  wherever  friction 
comes,  it  comes  only  to  polish  and  to  brighten,  not  to  ruin  and  to  make  in- 


_. 

THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869. 

capable  of  action.  And  if  we  make  this  use  of  friction,  how  are  we  to  do  it  ? 
Only,  brethren,  by  keeping  every  joint  and  pinion  well  oiled  with  prayer. 
That  is  the  way  that  the  friction  that  will  come  in  spite  of  all  that  we  can  do 
—  and  will  come  all  the  more  because  we  are  Presbyterians  —  [Laughter] —  that 
is  the  way  in  which  it  can  be  made  to  bring  everything  to  a  smooth  and  polished 
surface,  so  that  in  a  little  time  this  reunited  Church  shall  be  not  only  moving 
in  harmony,  but  will  be  the  grand  time-piece  of  the  Christian  religion  in  the 
whole  world ;  and  it  will  go  on,  and  it  will  tell  the  time,  minute  by  minute, 
and  hour  by  hour,  marking  the  progress  of  the  faith  of  Christ,  until  at  last  all 
shall  end  in  the  glorious  coming  of  its  Divine  Head,  and  the  work  of  all  hu 
man  agencies  and  time-pieces  shall  be  done  forever,  and  all  shall  be  taken 
home  to  God. 

SENATOR   DRAKE  was   followed   by 

ELDER   HE^RY   DAY,    ESQ.,    of   New   York. 

Brethren  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States  of  America.  I 
do  not  say  Moderators  —  their  duty  is  done  —  but  this  our  glorious  Church 
remains.  I  am  struck  to-day  with  the  grand  idea  of  what  has  been  accom 
plished  in  the  Providence  of  God  within  these  two  hours.  It  is  not  a  union 
of  the  brethren  here  merely.  It  is  not  a  union  only  of  the  hearts  that  are 
gathered  together  to-day  in  this  church.  It  is  a  union  of  four  hundred  thou 
sand  Christians  in  this  land.  If  I  could  set  before  you  an  array  of  the 
churches  scattered  all  over  our  land,  North,  South,  East,  and  West,  and  the 
mission  stations  in  foreign  lands,  and  put  the  picture  before  you,  then  I  could 
portray  what  has  been  done  within  these  last  two  or  three  days.  Thanks  be 
to  God  who  hath  done  this  work.  Brethren,  great  crises  and  great  occasions, 
in  churches,  in  nations,  and  in  individual  history,  always  lay  great  responsi 
bilities  upon  those  by  whom  they  are  brought  about.  We  are  not  to  be  an 
exception  to  that  rule. 

You,  brethren,  representing  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States, 
have  put  yourselves  under  tremendous  responsibility  in  this  matter.  This  is 
not  mainly  an  occasion  of  coming  together  that  we  may  show  our  strength 
and  our  numbers.  Why,  brethren,  we  have  come  out  before  Almighty  God, 
we  have  come  out  before  the  world,  we  have  brought  these  two  churches  to 
this  point  of  union,  and  what  have  we  sought  by  it  ?  What  tremendous 
responsibility  have  we  taken  upon  ourselves  to  the  Lord,  the  Head  of  the 
Church  !  Great  power  has  been  put  into  our  hands,  and  the  Lord  —  the 
Head  of  the  Church  —  demands  that  we  use  it  for  his  praise  and  his  glory. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  say  anything  new.  Any  man  would  shrink  from  that 
after  what  has  been  said  upon  this  stage,  and  I  would  merely  gather  up  one 
or  two  sentiments  that  we  may  fasten  them  in  our  minds,  and  carry  them 
with  us  to  our  homes.  The  first  sentiment  is,  that  the  Lord  God  Almighty 


400  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

has  brought  about  this  union,  and  woe  be  to  the  men,  or  the  man,  or  the  the 
ologian,  who  attempts  to  undo  it.  He  has  brought  us  to  this  through  disap 
pointment  and  reverses,  and  he  has  led  us  by  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and 
the  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  and  to-day  we  stand  on  the  hither  side  of  the 
Promised  Land.  If  we  stand  in  this  position,  what  then  have  we  to  do  ? 
Every  speaker  has  been  impressed  with  the  idea  that  we  have  something  to 
do.  Look  into  your  own  city  and  streets,  go  through  the  towns  along  your 
railways,  see  the  thousands  appealing  to  us  for  our  prayers,  and  then  you 
have  the  answer  to  the  question,  What  have  we  to  do  ?  What  have  we  to 
do  ?  We  have  everything  to  do.  How  are  we  to  do  it  ? 

As  I  was  walking  last  night,  under  a  fair  sky  and  a  beautiful  moon,  across 
the  majestic  bridge  that  spans  the  river  between  this  and  your  sister  city ;  as 
I  looked  up  and  down  the  river,  I  saw  the  lights  from  houses,  and  stores,  and 
river  craft,  —  I  saw  the  lights  scattered  all  along  that  stream,  and  that  every 
single  light  was  reflected  upon  the  bosom  of  the  river.  Every  one,  even  that 
of  the  humblest  widow,  was  reproduced  again.  It  occurred  to  me  that  is  the 
Church,  that  is  the  Presbyterian  Church,  that  is  the  Church  militant.  As  I 
looked  into  the  sky  and  saw  the  stars  shining  brightly,  and  they  too  reflected 
in  the  waters  of  the  river,  it  occurred  to  me  that  is  the  Church  triumphant. 
Now,  my  brethren,  that  is  what  we  want,  that  our  light  may  be  reflected 
upon  the  world.  Let  all,  let  every  widow,  let  every  child,  let  the  humblest, 
reproduce  their  light,  and  let  it  shine  out  upon  the  darkness  around  them. 
That  is  what  is  to  be  done  when  we  go  to  our  homes.  [Applause.  ] 

This  was  followed  by  the  address  of  the  HON.  WM. 
E.  DODGE. 

If  I  attempt  to  say  anything,  dear  brethren,  it  will  be  to  give  an  outburst 
of  my  heart,  in  the  words  of  the  Psalmist :  ' '  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and 
all  that  is  within  me,  bless  His  holy  name."  "  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul," 
for  the  privilege  of  living  to  see  this  day.  I  did  live  at  the  separation,  and 
my  heart  bled  at  the  separation,  and  I  thank  God  that  I  am  here  to-day,  to 
unite  with  you  in  ascriptions  of  praise  and  glory  to  God.  Hereafter,  our 
strong  men  —  our  honored  professors  —  will  not  spend  their  time  in  attempt 
ing  to  find  out  whether  we  differ  as  a  church,  but  in  the  determination  to 
stimulate  it  to  the  utmost  capacity,  so  that  every  member  of  this  united 
Church  may  go  forward  in  the  great  work  of  subduing  this  dying  world  to 
Jesus  Christ.  I  have  no  doubt  that  we  have  honestly  differed,  but  let  us  for 
get  all  those  differences.  We  are  a  united  country,  and  if  we  would  be  united 
in  truth,  North  and  South,  and  be  one  great  country,  for  which  we  fought 
and  bled,  we  must  forget  all  past  differences.  So  in  the  Church,  we  must 
forget  Old  School  and  New  School. 

The  interesting  anecdote  related  by  Dr.  Hall  reminds  me  of  one  which  I 
think  I  ought  to  relate  to  this  audience. 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  401 

More  than  twenty  years  ago,  two  eminent  merchants  in  the  city  of  New 
York  commenced  business  together  poor,  but  they  prospered  year  by  year,  till 
they  had  rolled  up  an  immense  estate.  On  one  occasion  they  differed  upon  a 
matter  of  policy  in  business.  That  difference  grew  into  anger.  They  sepa 
rated,  each  believing  the  other  meant  wrong.  The  result  was  that  the  very 
next  day  there  was  a  dissolution  of  partnership,  and  for  ten  long  years  they 
never  spoke  to  each  other.  They  settled  their  business  through  mutual 
friends.  I  stood  in  a  large  room,  on  one  occasion  when  one  of  them  stood  in 
one  room  and  the  other  in  another,  because  they  would  not  speak  to  each 
other,  and  an  auctioneer  called  out  their  bids  on  stock  as  a  mutual  friend. 
They  grew  gray  in  their  differences.  Once,  one  of  them,  musing  in  his 
library,  thinking  of  the  origin  of  their  separation,  and  of  their  pleasure  in 
early  life,  at  last  the  thought  passed  through  his  mind,  ' '  Can  it  be  possible 
that  I  misunderstood  him?"  He  spent  a  sleepless  night,  and  in  the  morning 
he  went  to  a  mutual  friend  and  said,  ' '  Go  to  my  partner  and  see  if  he  meant 
so  and  so. "  The  answer  was,  ' '  No,  I  never  thought  of  such  a  thing. "  The 
mutual  friend  came  back  and  gave  the  reply.  ' '  Can  it  be  possible  that  we 
have  suffered  all  this  through  these  twenty  years,  and  have  gone  through  all 
this,  simply  because  we  misunderstood  each  other,  or  thought  we  did  ?  "  A 
reconciliation  took  place,  that  bound  those  men  together  again,  and  they 
were  one.  They  lived  together  as  friends  as  long  as  they  lived.  One  of  them 
recently  passed  away  to  his  last  account.  On  his  dying  bed  he  was  thankful 
to  God,  for  they  were  Christians,  for  the  reunion  which  bound  them  together 
heart  to  heart,  that  it  had  taken  place  before  he  died. 

Let  this  be  a  union  that  we  shall  never,  never  break.  Let  us  never  sepa 
rate  because  we  think  we  differ  on  certain  questions  of  policy.  What  we 
want  is,  to  aid  one  another  a  great  deal.  I  have  thought  that  some  of  us 
might  do  much  in  the  way  of  pecuniary  effort.  Our  fathers  will  have  much 
to  do  in  urging  us  to  duty.  Let  all  the  past  be  forgotten,  and  let  us  go  for 
ward.  [Applause.] 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Dodge's  address  there  was  a  loud 
call  for  Mr.  GEORGE  H.  STUART,  who  was  present  on 
the  platform,  and  who  was  known  to  feel  a  hearty 
interest  in  the  event.  He  said : 

As  an  outsider  standing  on  a  platform  of  Presbyterianism  perhaps  a  little 
more  rigid  than  the  rest  of  you,  late  Xew  School  and  Old  School  brethren,  I 
have  looked  with  interest  second  to  no  man  upon  the  movement  inaugurated 
in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  during  the  visit  of  Dr.  McCosh  to  this  country  in  the 
year  1866.  I  was  then  in  Ireland,  and  when  looking  upon  the  hills  of  my  na 
tive  land  my  heart  went  up  to  God  in  a  song  of  thankfulness  for  that  com 
munion  season  that  the  two  Assemblies  had  enjoyed  together  in  the  city  of  St. 
26 


402  PRESBYTERIAN   EEUNION. 

Louis.  My  heart  went  up  still  more  when  I  heard  you  had  so  fai  looked  at 
each  other  as  to  appoint  committees  on  Reunion.  When  I  heard  of  difficul 
ties  arising  in  the  progress  of  the  movement,  my  heart  was  sad  indeed.  I 
have  prayed  for  this  union ;  and  I  have  labored  for  it ;  simply  because  I  be 
lieved  that  it  would  bring  glory  to  my  blessed  Lord  and  Master,  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  I  trust  I  am  and  whom  I  endeavor  to  serve.  I  have  labored  and 
prayed  for  it,  because  I  believed  it  would  tend  to  the  advancement  of  the 
kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  not  only  in  the  United  States  of  America,  but  in  dis 
tant  heathen  lands.  I  have  labored  for  it,  and  I  have  prayed  for  it,  because 
I  believed  it  would  allow  ministers  from  towns  in  which  several  are  now 
laboring  (while  one  would  be  sufficient),  to  go  to  more  destitute  fields  at 
home  and  abroad.  I  have  labored  and  prayed  for  it,  because  it  would  bring 
brethren  together,  now  unhappily  divided,  to  see  eye  to  eye,  and  send  minis 
ters  from  these  little  charges,  with  the  prayers  of  this  united  Church,  to  go 
to  Africa,  and  China,  and  India,  and  the  Islands  of  the  Sea,  that  the  nations 
that  have  so  long  bowed  down  to  idols  might  learn  of  Jesus  and  Him  cruci 
fied.  Oh,  brethren  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States  of 
America !  think  of  it,  that  since  this  hour  yesterday  —  since  these  twenty-four 
hours  have  passed  away  —  dghty -six  tlwusand  four  hundred  immortal  souls 
have  gone  to  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  and  we  ought  to  ask  ourselves  the 
question  which  Baxter  asked  when  he  said,  ' '  I  never  hear  the  funeral  bell 
toll  without  asking  myself  the  question,  what  have  I  done  to  point  that  de 
parted  soul  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  died  to  save  a  perishing  world?" 
Brethren,  buckle  on  your  armor  for  the  great  conflict ;  buckle  it  on  for  giving 
the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God  to  the  millions  of  the  earth  who  are 
perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge. 

May  God  bless  this  great  Presbyterian  Church,  and  may  God  grant  that  the 
day  may  soon  come  when  one  United  Church  shall  embrace  all  in  this  land 
who  bear  the  Presbyterian  name. 

When  Mr.  Stuart  took  his  seat,  the  Moderator 
called  on  Mr.  ROBERT  CARTER,  Ruling  Elder  of  New 
York,  to  offer  prayer.  This  he  did  with  great  unction, 
and  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  occasion  —  the  great 
assembly  melted  together  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

The  Apostolic  benediction  was  then  pronounced  by 
the  Moderator,  the  Rev.  M.  W.  Jacobus,  D.D.,  and  the 
immense  audience  which  had  been  held  together  three 
hours,  great  numbers  of  them  patiently  standing,  and 
signifying  their  unflagging  interest  by  breathless 


THE    ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  403 

attention,  dispersed,  but   never  to  forget   the   day  of 

THE    PEESBYTEEIAiSr    REtrNTOIT. 

These  scenes  of  Christian  fellowship  and  fraternity, 
so  rare  and  memorable,  were  crowned  with  the  sacra 
ment  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  the  afternoon  of  this 
jubilee  day,  at  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  The 
Moderators  presided  jointly,  and  over  a  thousand  com 
municants  received  the  holy  ordinance.  The  Church 
was  crowded  in  auditorium  and  galleries,  and  many 
were  standing  in  the  aisles.  Addresses  were  made  by 
Rev.  Drs.  J.  F.  Stearns  and  R.  K.  Rodgers.  It  was 
the  first  reunited  communion.  The  great  and  joyous 
event  of  the  week,  with  all  the  pleasing  trans 
port  of  the  morning  service,  fresh  in  mind,  made  this  a 
feast  of  tabernacles  —  a  closing  festival  of  the  year. 
Such  a  day  is  one  in  a  lifetime.  Men  confessed  them 
selves  converted  to  the  movement  by  the  morning  cele 
bration. 

A  well-known  lawyer  of  the  city,  who  had,  a  few 
months  before,  asked  the  privilege  of  one  of  the  Pres 
byteries  to  argue  against  the  Reunion,  said  to  the  writer 
as  he  entered  the  Church  at  the  sacramental  service, 
"  You  may  count  me  a  convert  after  the  meeting  this 
morning." 

And  the  Holy  Supper  set  its  seal  at  once  upon  the 
covenant  of  Divine  love,  and  upon  this  answering  cove 
nant  of  Christian  love  and  union.  There  were  such 
meltings  and  nowings  of  heart  there,  at  the  Table  of  the 
Lord,  as  made  the  place  to  be  the  Gate  of  Heaven.  And 
altogether,  the  impressions  of  the  brief,  but  blessed  sit 
ting  of  the  two  Assemblies,  with  the  grand  climax  of 
the  jubilee  and  the  Supper,  are  such  impressions  as  are 


404  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

rarely,  if  ever,  equalled,  and  cannot  be  excelled  on 
earth. 

Remembering,  too,  that  this  was  in  Pittsburg,  which 
had  witnessed  such  scenes  of  conflict  in  the  days  of  bit 
ter  controversy,  it  was  all  the  more  notable  and  joyous. 
The  healing  was  to  be  measured  by  the  depth  of  the 
wound,  —  the  joy  of  1870  by  the  sorrow  of  1837.  It 
was  no  such  absurdity  as  an  empirical  pronouncing  that 
there  never  had  been  any  wound,  nor  any  departure. 
But  it  was  a  pronouncement  of  a  healthy  knitting  to 
gether,  and  of  a  sound  recovery. 

Christianity  has  her  most  august  triumph  in  Christian 
conciliation,  on  the  platform  of  Christian  truth,  and  for 
united  Christian  service.  "  Grace  and  truth  came  by 
Jesus  Christ."  There  may  be  mistakes  and  shortcomings 
in  all  these  transactions,  but  harmony,  and  not  strife,  con 
cord,  and  not  discord,  union,  and  not  separation,  are  in 
the  Divine  programme  for  the  Church's  future.  And  if 
the  world  inquires  of  the  watchman,  "What  of  the 
night  ?  "  we  will  answer,  "  TIIE  MORNING  COMETH  and 
also  the  night"  If  ye  will  inquire,  inquire  ye! 
Return  I  Come  ! 

The  Commissioners,  in  large  companies,  took  the  even 
ing  trains  of  Friday  for  their  homes.  But  there  was 
yet  another  service  for  those  who  remained.  It  was  a 
public  meeting  in  the  interest  of  Foreign  Missions.  It 
was  held  in  the  Third  Church.  The  Assemblage  was 
very  crowded,  and  interested.  There  seemed  a  special 
fitness  in  the  arrangement  by  which  the  Jubilee  was 
ushered  in  by  a  convocation  for  Home  Missions,  and 
followed  up  by  a  stirring  convention  for  Foreign  Mis 
sions,  as  the  two  grand  departments  of  Church  enter- 


THE   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1869.  405 

prise,  wliicli  this  united  host  lias  sworn  together  to  push 
forward  to  the  noblest  results,  Avith  God's  blessing, 
for  tlie  evangelizing  of  tlie  world. 

It  was  necessary,  for  legal  purposes,  that  the  next  As 
sembly  should  meet  in  Pennsylvania.  And  the  city  of 
Brotherly  Love,  the  traditional  seat  of  Presbyterianism 
in  the  land,  had  its  prior  claim.  And  so  also  it  was  or 
dered,  in  God's  Providence,  that  the  first  meeting  in 
General  Assembly  of  the  Reunited  Church  should  be  in 
the  same  house  where  the  disruption  first  became  a  pro 
nounced  and  public  fact,  by  the  meeting  there  of  a  sepa 
rate  Assembly  —  that  the  coming  together  in  peace  of 
the  two  Assemblies  should  take  place  where  the  pro 
testing  Assembly  met  a  generation  ago  —  nay,  more,  that 
it  should  be  in  the  same  First  Church,  on  Washington 
Square,  where  Albert  Barnes  had  so  long  labored  before 
and  since  the  disruption  with  which  his  name  was  so 
prominently  connected. 

So  the  ends  of  history  meet,  and  make  God's  circles, 
every  way  fitting  and  complete  for  the  admiration  of 
the  world,  and  for  an  exhibition  to  the  universe  of  the 
wisdom  of  God.  And  this  Reunion  in  Philadelphia 
would  be  all  the  more  remarkable  in  view  of  the  fact, 
that  when  the  two  Assemblies  last  met,  in  that  city,  in 
1846,  an  overture  from  the  New  School  for  a  joint  com 
munion  was  rejected  —  formally  for  lack  of  precedent, 
but  really  for  lack  of  the  conditions  precedent,  the 
mutual  confidence  and  love ;  which  conditions  were  now 
happily  fulfilled.  If  any  ask,  like  Nicodemus,  "  How 
can  these  things  be  ?  "  the  only  answer  is  figured  forth 
by  the  Master,  in  tlie  wind  tliat  bloioetli  where  it  listeth, 
and  makes  itself  known  by  its  effects,  as  an  emblem  of 
the  renewing,  reviving  spirit  of  God.  LAUS  DEO  ! 


406  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 


ADDITIONAL     IMPRESSIONS. 

BY     THE     REV.    P.     H.    FOWLER,     D.D. 

The  Hand  of  God  in  the  Reunion.  —  Disinterested  Motives.  —  Fears  of  Some 
in  both  Schools.  —  Final  Confidence.  —  Glad  Emotions  at  the  Result 
reached  by  the  Conference  Committee.  — The  Silent  Prayer.  —  The 
Vote.  —  The  Hymn  of  Thanksgiving.  —  The  Joyful  Reassembling  at  Pitts 
burgh  —  Sentiment  of  Responsibility  attending  the  Consummated  Union. 
—  The  Key-Note  given  to  the  Reunited  Church. 

TIIE  reunion  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Church  so  far 
transcended  every  other  subject  before  the  Assemblies 
of  May  and  November,  1869,  and  the  two  bodies  were 
so  homogeneous,  that  an  account  of  either  is  in  all  essen 
tial  respects  an  account  of  the  other.  It  was  presumed 
that  the  narrative  of  Dr.  Jacobus  might  leave  something 
to  be  supplied  by  one  who  was  present  in  the  New 
School  Assembly ;  but  it  is  so  comprehensive  that  any 
addition  to  it  is  almost  superfluous. 

God  is  in  history,  and  conspicuously  does  he  appear 
in  the  event  now  so  happily  consummated.  The  train 
for  it  was  laid  so  independently  of  human  agency,  prog 
ress  towards  it  was  made  to  such  an  extent  without 
visible  means,  formidable  difficulties  so  frequently  re 
tired  as  it  was  approached,  and  it  was  finally  reached 
with  such  unanimity  and  cordiality  in  so  brief  a  space, 
after  bitter  alienation,  that  it  cannot  be  explained  ex 
cept  on  the  supposition  of  a  special  Divine  interposition. 
"  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy  name 
give  glory."  And  giving  God  the  glory,  we  take  en 
couragement  for  the  future.  A  guaranty  of  good  to 


W  — " —          "\t       ilVipil   <!^ 

>  J7      C.  1).  DUAKE. 


ADDITIONAL    IMPKESSIONS.  407 

come  is  furnished.  "Wliat  has  been  Divinely  wrought 
must  be  Divinely  prospered. 

The  disinterestedness  with  which  the  Reunion  was 
sought  should  also  be  observed.  Neither  body  had 
selfish  objects  in  view.  Neither  desired  to  ease  or  mag 
nify  itself.  Each  was  thrifty  and  fruitful,  with  no  need 
of  change  to  escape  barrenness  and  decline,  and  each 
could  say  from  the  depths  of  its  consciousness  that  it 
had  no  aspirations  for  aggrandizement.  We  yielded  to 
our  convictions  of  what  was  due  to  the  cause  of  God 
and  accordant  with  his  will.  We  longed  indeed  for 
the  association  to  which  our  affinities  adapted  us,  but 
while  drawn  together  by  sympathy,  we  came  together 
at  a  divine  call,  for  the  larger  work  our  combination 
enables  us  to  perform.  We  accept  the  Reunion  as  a  re 
sponsibility  even  more  than  as  a  pleasure.  Enlarging 
our  opportunities,  we  look  upon  it  as  enhancing  our  ob 
ligations.  We  expect  and  mean  to  do  more  than  ever 
before. 

While  fears  for  orthodoxy  and  apprehensions  of  com 
motion  from  the  mingling  of  discordant  elements  and 
surviving  antipathies,  disinclined  many  of  the  Old  School 
brethren  to  the  Reunion,  it  was  repugnant  to  a  few  of 
the  New  School  brethren  as  likely  to  restrain  the  Chris 
tian  liberty  of  thought  and  to  destroy  or  impair  the  pleas 
antness  of  their  ecclesiastical  associations,  and  as  calling 
off  their  Church  from  a  course  of  bold  and  successful 
enterprise  which  it  was  pursuing.  But  a  better  ac 
quaintance  with  each  other  allayed  suspicions  and  anxi 
ety  on  both  sides.  Truth  was  found  to  be  as  precious 
and  safe  with  one  as  with  the  other,  and  toleration  as 
reasonable,  and  an  association  of  the  two  proved  a  fel- 


408  PEESBTTERIAIS: 


lowsliip  of  congenial  spirits.  It  was  remarkable  Low  a 
membership  of  joint  committees  and  of  Assemblies  con 
vened  in  the  same  place  removed  distrust  and  substi 
tuted  confidence  and  affection.  The  elders  and  private 
members  of  the  church  were  soonest  ready  for  the  Re 
union,  and  most  unanimous  and  earnest  for  it,  because, 
in  fact,  they  frequently  met  in  business  and  social  inter 
course  and  knew  each  other.  Some  of  the  aversion  to 
the  Reunion  remained  amon^  the  Old  School  brethren 

o 

to  the  last,  though  generally  these  were  but  little  in 
conference  with  New  School  brethren,  and,  therefore, 
could  not  understand  them.  Opposition  to  it  among 
the  New  School  brethren  was  entirely  withdrawn,  not 
altogether  because  they  were  satisfied  with  it,  but  be 
cause  it  was  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  unanimity  was 
the  habit  of  their  body,  and  they  preferred  concession 
to  dissent. 

Although  the  New  School  branch  of  the  church  had 

O 

been  generally  well  disposed  towards  the  Reunion  from 
the  first,  a  change  was  distinctly  manifest,  as  Dr.  Ja 
cobus  has  remarked,  at  the  opening  of  the  Assemblies 
in  New  York.  While  no  zeal  for  it  had  widely  pre 
vailed,  there  was  an  assent  to  it  as  wisest  and  best  in 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  an  acquiescence  in 
the  successive  projects  proposed  for  it,  though  these 
were  by  no  means  fully  approved  and  relished.  The 
failure  of  these  projects  in  the  other  branch  produced  a 
sense  of  wounded  pride  and  dignity.  If  not  repelled 
or  trifled  with,  the  New  School  brethren  felt  that  they 
had  not  been  met  with  the  generosity  they  had  shown, 
and  just  self-respect  constrained  them  to  put  on  reserve. 
All  this  passed  away  on  the  correction  of  the  misappre- 


ADDITIONAL    IMPRESSIONS.  409 

tension  in  which  it  originated.  The  earliest  proceedings 
of  the  Old  School  Assembly  expressed  such  heartiness 
for  the  Reunion  that  the  delay  of  it  in  its  branch  of  the 
church  was  demonstrated  to  have  been  induced  by  un- 
propitious  circumstances  and  not  by  blameworthy  con 
siderations.  The  tide  of  feeling  in  both  bodies  was  thus 

O 

swollen,  and  defied  all  impediments  to  its  flow.  The  acts 
and  incidents  of  the  session  may  be  recorded,  but  the 
spirit  of  the  occasion  can  never  be  described.  There 
was  the  inflamed  ardor  for  the  Reunion,  and  then  the 
solicitude  about  the  speedy  practicability  of  it,  when 
the  terms  of  it  came  again  to  be  considered  and  stated, 
the  alternation  of  hope  and  fear,  the  elation  and  de 
pression,  until  the  intelligence  that  the  Joint  Commit 
tee  to  whom  the  matter  was  referred  had  agreed  on  a 

O 

"  basis."  The  presentation  of  the  Report  and  its  adop 
tion  by  the  Assemblies  turned  excitement  into  ecstacy. 
None  but  they  who  felt  it  can  know  the  experience  of 
those  days,  —  the  pressure  of  soul,  —  the  suspense,  - 
the  relief  when  it  was  known  that  our  prudent  men, 
under  the  leading  of  the  Spirit,  had  devised  a"  plan 
which  they  believed  met  the  exigency,  —  the  eagerness 
with  which  its  public  reading  was  listened  to,  —  the  se 
riousness  with  which  it  was  discussed,  —  the  solemnity 
with  which  it  was  voted  upon,  and  the  gratification 
with  which  it  was  approved.  The  Report  was  care 
fully  considered  in  both  Assemblies,  but  it  cannot  be 
said  to  have  been  debated  in  the  New  School  Assem 
bly.  No  opposition  was  made  to  it  there.  There  was 
only  a  difference  in  the  assent  given  to  it,  and  they  who 
most  qualified  this  were  only  precautionary.  They  en 
tered  a  caveat  against  a  narrow  and  illiberal  spirit  and 


410  PEESBYTEEIAlSr    REUNION. 

policy  in  the  reunited  church,  and  against  a  censorship 
of  "  all  reasonable  liberty  in  the  statement  of  views  and 
the  interpretation  of  the  standards  not  impairing  the 
integrity  of  the  Calvinistic  system,"  and  especially 
against  a  disturbance  of  the  ecclesiastical  status  of  any 
particular  individual  who  had  retained  a  good  standing 
in  the  New  School  branch  of  the  church,  notwithstand 
ing  his  peculiarities  in  minor  articles  of  faith,  and  his 
philosophy  of  doctrines  and  facts.  The  sensitiveness 
on  this  subject  grew  out  of  the  intemperateness  of 
speech,  amounting  to  threats,  which  had  been  indulged 
in  here  and  there  by  Old  School  brethren  disaffected 
towards  the  Reunion,  and  not  from  zeal  for  the  views 
in  question,  or  even  concurrence  in  them,  and  still  less 
because  they  were  presumed  to  prevail  in  the  New 
School  body.  The  speeches  were  simply  a  notice  in  ad 
vance  that  the  tolerance  of  immaterial  diversities  was 
expected  and  would  be  claimed,  and  that  acceptable 
members  of  either  branch  of  the  church  must  hold 
an  unquestioned  place  in  the  two  combined. 

All  who  desired  to  speak  having  been  satisfied,  the 
voting  in  the  New  School  Assembly  was  preceded  by 
silent  prayer,  and  these  were  deeply  impressive  mo- 
•  ments.  The  thronged  house  was  motionless  and  still, 
as  if  transfixed  and  hushed  in  looking  to  God.  The 
question  was  then  taken  by  rising,  and  every  Commis 
sioner  stood  up  in  the  affirmative  !  Nothing  like  tu- 
multuousness  succeeded,  nor  was  there  the  faintest  ap 
plause,  and  yet  the  joy  was  rapturous.  Thanksgiving 
and  praise  were  the  universal  impulse,  and  the  venera 
ble  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Skinner  most  fittingly  led  in  this 
act.  A  hymn  was  then  sung.  With  thrilling  force  the 


ADDITIONAL    IMPRESSIONS.  411 

grand  old  words  of  that  inspiring  song  rolled  upward 
from  that  vast  Assembly  of  strong,  earnest,  resolute 
Christian  men,  standing  there  in  a  solid  body  — 

"  Let  Zion  and  her  sons  rejoice, 

Behold  the  promised  hour ; 
Her  God  hath  heard  her  mourning  voice, 
And  comes  to  exalt  his  power. 

"  The  Lord  will  raise  Jerusalem, 

And  stand  in  glory  there  ; 
Nations  rejoice  before  his  name, 
And  kings  attend  with  fear. 

"  This  shall  be  known  when  we  are  dead, 

And  left  on  long  record, 
That  nations  yet  unborn  may  read, 
And  trust  and  praise  the  Lord." 

The  Assemblies  met  at  Pittsburg  with  a  very  dif 
ferent  spirit  from  what  prevailed  at  their  opening  in 
New  York.  All  was  exhilaration  now.  The  Presbyte 
ries,  it  was  known,  had  affirmed  the  overture  submitted 
to  them,  and  after  the  reception  and  announcement  of 
their  answers,  the  proclamation  of  the  Reunion  was  to 
be  made ;  and  as  the  Commissioners  exchanged  greetings 
their  faces  beamed  with  smiles,  and  they  grasped  hands 
closely,  and  shook  them  vigorously,  and  their  voices  rang 
out  cheerily.  On  calling  the  roll  in  the  New  School 
Assembly,  the  gayety  of  the  hour  was  subdued  by  the 
disappearance  from  it,  through  death,  of  the  names  of 
one  minister  and  two  elders :  the  Rev.  Frederick  R. 
Gallaher,  D.D.,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Coldwater,  H.  G. 
Torbett,  M.D.,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Utica,  and  Loring 
Danforth,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Buffalo.  Reports  of 
Committees  on  Amusements,  on  the  Bible  in  Schools, 
and  on  State  Appropriations  to  Sectarian  Schools, 


412  PEESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

on  the  Report  of  the  Delegate  the  preceding  year 
to  the  General  Assemblies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
'of  Ireland  and  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
and  on  the  relations  of  the  General  Assembly  to  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions, 

O  ' 

were  adopted  by  the  New  School  body,  and  few  other 
matters  were  disposed  of  there.  The  answers  of  the 
Presbyteries  to  the  overture  sent  down  to  them  were 
examined  and  declared  and  reported  to  the  other  Assem 
bly,  and  its  report  of  the  answers  of  its  Presbyte 
ries  was  received,  and  thereupon  the  Assembly  was 
dissolved. 

A  sentiment  of  anxiety  and  sadness  predominated  in 
the  act  which  finally  merged  the  two  bodies  into  each 
other.  The  attention  was  naturally  turned  to  previous 
relationships  that  had  been  greatly  enjoyed,  and  which, 
if  not  broken  up,  were  to  be  henceforward  modified. 
If  old  associates  were  to  be  retained,  many  new  ones 
were  to  be  introduced  into  the  company,  and  the  char 
acter  of  the  intercourse  held  might  be  changed.  There 
was  the  risk,  too,  attending  all  decisive  deeds,  however 
commended  and  approved.  The  die  was  cast,  and  while 
great  good  was  confidently  expected,  evil  might  ensue. 
I  am  best  informed,  of  course,  about  the  New  School 
brethren.  They  could  hardly  be  more  consentaneous 
and  affectionate.  Leaderships,  parties,  cliques,  animos 
ities,  strifes,  rivalries,  jealousies,  envies,  were  unknown 
among  them.  There  were  frequent  differences  of 
opinion  and  earnest  discussions,  but  no  disputes  and 
dividing  lines.  Their  method  of  conducting  ecclesiasti 
cal  proceedings  was  exceedingly  fraternal.  They  were 
family  conferences  rather  than  legislative  and  judicial 


ADDITIONAL    IMPEESSIOXS.  413 

assemblies.  Superior  wisdom  exerted  superior  influence, 
but  no  lording  it  appeared,  and  voting  was  a  means  of 
ascertaining  the  judgment  and  wish  of  a  body,  and  not 
the  triumph  or  defeat  of  contestants.  The  least  pos 
sible  appearance  of  authority  was  exhibited.  An  at 
tachment  thus  so  bound  them  together,  and  a  sympathy 
thus  so  identified  them,  that  it  is  not  strange  that  they 
took  the  step  with  moistened  eye  and  trembling  limb, 
which,  though  it  did  not  part  them,  added  associates  to 
them  that  might  jeopard  their  fellowship.  This  fore 
boding  was  quickly  composed.  In  private  conferences, 
in  committees,  in  ecclesiastical  meetings,  there  has  been 
no  consciousness  on  either  side  of  any  change  in  the 
character  of  former  association  and  intercourse.  Every 
individual  has  felt  perfectly  at  home  in  his  new  rela 
tionships.  None,  indeed,  have  seemed  aware  that  they 
were  new  in  the  least.  If  the  numbers  connected  with 
them  have  increased,  it  is  not  perceived  from  an  abate 
ment  of  familiarity  and  freedom. 

The  Jubilee  Convention  that  followed  the  dissolution 
of  the  Assemblies  gave  the  key-note  to  the  reunited 
church,  and  started  it  on  its  career.  Jubilation  and 
congratulation  and  thanksgiving  were  irrepressible,  but 
the  sense  of  duty  and  its  pressure  superabounded. 
Every  speaker  was  burthened  by  the  work  to  be  per 
formed,  and  intent  on  securing  faithfulness  and  effi 
ciency,  and  the  immense  audience,  packed  into  a  single 
body,  lifted  its  shoulders  and  stretched  out  its  arms  to 
undertake  it.  "  "We  must  dare  and  do,"  the  one  soul 
throbbed.  A  million  of  dollars  as  a  thank-offering  will 
not  suffice.  It  shall  be  five  millions,  at  least.  En 
thusiasm  proposed  the  sum  to  be  presented,  but  the 


414  PEESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

resolute  purpose  to  raise  it  seconded  the  motion  and 
adopted  it.  Thus  setting  out  with  liberality,  and  com 
mitted  to  enterprise,  the  reunited  church  must  be  des 
tined  to  large  prosperity  and  rapid  and  extensive  prog 
ress.  Let  "  achievement "  be  its  motto,  with  benevo 
lence  as  its  spirit,  and  beneficence  as  its  work. 


S5«3N 


THE 


'UNIVERSITY! 


-VT" 


CHAPTER    SEVENTH. 

THE    RECONSTRUCTION. 


BY    THE    REV.    G.    S.    PLUMLEY. 


What  Reconstruction  is.  —  The  General  Assembly  of  1870. — Philadelphia. 
—  Organization.  —  Incidents.  —  Joint  Committee  on  Reconstruction.  — 
Its  Report  as  modified.  —  The  new  Synods  and  Presbyteries.  —  Theological 
Seminaries.  —  Home  Missions.  —  Foreign  Missions.  —  Publication.  —  Sab 
bath  School  Literature.  —  Education.  —  Selection  of  Candidates.  —  Church 
Erection. — Ministerial  Relief. — Work  for  the  Freedmen. — Concentra 
tion  of  the  Plans  of  the  Church.  —  Remarks  of  Dr.  John  C.  Backus.  — 
Report  on  the  Finances  of  the  Church.  —  Committee  on  Unification.  — 
The  Southern  Church.  —  Popular  Education.  —  Memorial  Fund.  —  Heidel 
berg  Catechism.  —  Social  Reunion.  —  Work  of  the  Assembly  well  per 
formed.  —  Satisfaction  of  the  Church.  — What  yet  remains  to  be  done. — 
Hopes  and  Responsibilities.  —  God's  Promise. 


UPON  the  consolidated  Church  is  laid  the  task  of 
Reconstruction.  This  includes  a  new  arrangement  of 
Synods  and  Presbyteries,  constitutional  and  other 
changes  made  necessary  by  combining  into  one  two 
previously  distinct  branches,  and  a  fresh  adjustment  of 
the  agencies  hitherto  employed  by  them  both  for  mis 
sionary  and  other  Christian  efforts.  Its  full  accom 
plishment  will,  moreover,  add  to  the  power  of  the 
Church  as  an  instrument  for  doing  good,  it  will  prune 
her  administration  from  everything  not  approved  by 
experience,  it  will  enable  her  to  adapt  her  plans  to  the 
demands  of  the  present  and  the  future,  and  more  fully 
equip  her  for  the  mighty  work  to  which  her  God  now 
calls  her.  Such  a  task  may  well  employ  the  best 

(415) 


41 C  PEESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

tlioughts  and  most  earnest  prayers  of  all  her  officers 
and  members,  for  the  Divine  voice  once  more  is  saying 
to  her,  "Thou  shalt  raise  up  the  foundations  of  many 
generations." 

If  this  view  of  the  magnitude  and  scope  of  the  work 
of  Reconstruction  be  correct,  the  General  Assembly  of 
1870  performed  its  full  share  of  it,  by  denning  its  out 
lines,  and  commencing  to  fill  them  up. 

The  object  of  the  present  chapter  is  to  review  what 
this  Assembly  thus  transacted,  and  to  indicate  what 
yet  remains  for  its  successors  to  accomplish. 

Philadelphia  was  in  every  way  most  appropriately  a 
place  of  meeting  for  the  first  Assembly  of  the  Reunited 
Presbyterian  Church.  It  has  been  claimed  that  the 
first  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  country  was  here 
organized.  The  mother  Presbytery  was  formed  in  the 
same  city  in  1705.  Forty-four  General  Assemblies  had 
here  been  welcomed  previous  to  the  division,  and  after 
it,  nine  of  the  Old  School  and  seven  of  the  New  School 
Assemblies  transacted  their  business  in  Philadelphia. 
Its  very  name  suggests  harmony,  and  during  the  ses 
sions  of  1870,  its  citizens,  with  liberal  kindness  and 
unsurpassed  hospitality,  accommodated  the  nearly  six 
hundred  delegates  that  composed  the  Assembly,  render 
ing  their  sojourn  most  agreeable,  and  filling  up  the 
intervals  of  their  business  with  pleasant,  social  enter 
tainments. 

The  General  Assembly  convened,  as  was  most  fitting, 
with  that  congregation  from  which  all  others  in  the 

O         O 

city  date  their  origin,  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
on  Washington  Square  (the  Rev.  Albert  Barnes  and 


THE   RECONSTRUCTION.  417 

Herrick  Johnson,  D.D.,  pastors),  on  Thursday,  May 
19,  1870,  at  11  A.  M. 

To  prepare  for  this  meeting,  arrangements  of  the 
most  ample  character  had  been  made  by  a  joint-com 
mittee,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  Herrick  Johnson,  D.D., 
chairman,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Reed,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  Z. 
M.  Humphrey,  D.D.,  and  Messrs.  William  G.  Crowell, 
Morris  Patterson,  and  J.  A.  Gardner.  These  gentlemen 
were  indefatigable  in  their  endeavor  to  secure  the  com 
fort  of  their  numerous  guests.  Their  forethought  had 
provided  ample  accommodations  for  all  the  wants  of 
the  large  deliberative  body  meeting  with  them,  and 
from  the  commencement  to  the  close  of  its  protracted 
sessions,  the  cheerfulness  and  constant  courtesy  with 
which  their  arduous  labors  were  rendered  elicited  the 
united  commendation  of  all  for  whom  they  toiled. 
The  thorough  success  of  their  efforts  deserves  special 
mention. 

As  the  opening  exercises  commenced  in  the  spacious 
edifice  of  the  First  Church,  the  sight  was  pleasant  and 
impressive.  The  ground  floor  of  the  house  was  nearly 
filled  by  the  Commissioners  and  the  Delegates  from 
various  kindred  bodies.  Upon  the  platform  were 
seated  representatives  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Great  Britain,  and 
of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church ;  also  the  Rev.  Thomas 
DeWitt,  D.D.,  one  of  the  oldest  ministers  of  the  Re 
formed  (late  Reformed  Dutch)  Church.  A  floral  com 
mittee  had  tastefully  decorated  the  pulpit,  the  desks  of 
the  clerks,  and  the  galleries  with  choice  evergreens  and 
flowers.  Over  the  pulpit  they  had  suspended  the 
words :  "  Now  ARE  THEY  MANY  MEMBERS,  YET  BUT 

27 


418  PKESBYTEKIAN 


BODY  ;  "  while  at  the  rear  end  of  the  Church  were  seen 
the  date  of  the  division  with  that  of  the  Reunion  :  1837, 
1870.  An  audience,  that  crowded  every  portion  of  the 
building  not  reserved  for  the  Assembly,  gladly  united 
with  its  members  in  the  services  of  praise  and  prayer 
which  preceded  the  sermon  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fowler,  the 
last  Moderator  of  the  New  School  branch.  This  dis 
course  at  once  entered  upon  the  subject  of  the  Recon 
struction  of  the  Reunited  Church,  and  suggested  its 
outlines. 

Dr.  Fowler's  text  was  Ephesians  iv.  4  :  "  There  is 
one  Body,  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  ye  are  called  in  one 
hope  of  your  calling."  The  preparation  of  this  dis 
course  was  somewhat  advanced  before  it  was  noticed 
that  the  Rev.  F.  Allison,  D.D.,  had  chosen  the  same 
text  when  preaching  in  Philadelphia,  May  24,  1758, 
before  "  The  Reverend  Synod  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
Reverend  Commission  of  the  Synod  of  New  York,"  on 
occasion  of  the  former  Reunion  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Instead,  however,  of  changing  the  text,  as  was 
his  impulse  at  first,  Dr.  Fowler  retained  it,  as  sanctioned 
by  such  an  authority  for  it,  rather  than  interdicted  by 
such  a  use  of  it. 

The  portion  of  the  sermon  which  relates  to  Recon 
struction  is  as  follows  :  - 

First,  the  Reunion  lays  upon  us'  a  worTc  of  reconstruction.  I  will  not  in 
trude  on  the  part  assigned  to  committees  appointed  to  report  to  this  Gen 
eral  Assembly.  They  are  charged  chiefly  with  the  necessary  changes  in 
the  boundaries  of  our  judicatories,  and  with  the  combination  of  our  two 
sets  of  evangelistic  agencies.  The  further  question  arises,  Is  any  modifica 
tion  of  our  ecclesiastical  administration  desirable  and  feasible  ? 

Everything  distinctive  in  our  polity  is  beyond  inquiry,  of  course.  As 
none  of  us  entertain  a  thought,  so  none  of  us  could  present  a  proposition 


THE   EECONSTEUCTION.  419 

looking  the  most  remotely  to  the  least  alteration  of  our  Presbyterianism. 
We  fully  approve  it.  We  ardently  love  it.  Study  and  observation  and 
experiment  commend  it  to  our  judgments  and  hearts.  But  is  our  method 
of  operation  incapable  of  improvement  ?  Has  trial  developed  no  faults  or 
defects  in  the  organs  we  furnish  for  the  functions  of  our  Church  ? 

For  example,  how  is  it  in  reference  to  supervision  f  Our  organization 
provides  for  it.  Indeed,  it  is  characterized  by  it.  We  define  Presbyter 
ianism  as  "  a  series  of  courts  of  review  and  control."  But  ours  is  a  super 
vision  by  bodies.  Presbyteries,  Synods,  and  the  General  Assembly  exer 
cise  it.  Is  there  not  a  measure,  and  is  there  not  a  method  of  it,  that  could 
be  entrusted  to  individuals,  and  that  would  be  useful  to  the  Church? 
None  of  us  could  be  reconciled  to  an  Episcopacy  —  technically  so  called. 
The  parity  of  the  ministry  is  inviolable  among  us,  and  imperiousness  and 
inquisitiveness  are  intolerable  by  us.  We  must  be  freemen  and  peers. 
And  we  would  not  sacrifice  self-training,  self -incitement,  self-restraint,  for 
the  quickening  and  check  of  a  bishop's  crook  and  eye.  We  must  be,  we 
will  be,  laws  to  ourselves.  But  cannot  individualism  be  reconciled  with  a 
supervision  by  individuals,  and  would  not  our  Presbyterianism  be  helped 
by  it?  Prelacy  and  Methodism  largely  owe  their  efficiency  to  it,  and 
guarded  against  excess  and  abuse,  and  an  appendix  to  supervision  by  judi- 
catories,  might  it  not  add  to  our  force  ? 

This  would  be  no  novelty  in  Presbyterianism,  as  it  would  be  no  intru 
sion  upon  it.  John  Knox  established  it  in  the  Scotch  Kirk,  which  he  divided 
into  ten  dioceses,  for  each  of  which  a  superintendent  was  appointed.  The 
first  Book  of  Discipline  directed  that  these  superintendents  should  have 
their  own  special  kirks,  besides  the  common  charge  of  others,  and  that 
they  should  not  "remain  in  their  own  kirks  above  three  or  four  months, 
but  should  pass  again  to  their  visitations."  Their  duty  was  described  as 
not  only  to  preach  where  they  went,  but  to  ' '  examine  the  doctrines,  life, 
diligence,  and  behavior  of  the  ministers,  elders,  and  deacons ;  "  to  "  con 
sider  the  order  of  the  kirk,  the  manners  of  the  people,  how  the  poor  are 
provided,  how  the  youth  are  instructed,  how  the  purity  and  discipline  of 
the  kirk  are  kept,  how  heinous  and  horrible  crimes  are  corrected,"  and  to 
"administer  and  dress  things  out  of  order  with  their  counsel  the  best  way 
they  may." 

The  genius  of  Presbyterianism  presides  in  the  study.  Our  ministers  are 
the  thinkers  and  scholars  of  their  profession,  and  particularly  set  apart  for 
the  inculcation  of  principles  and  doctrines.  Diligently  do  they  prose- 
cxite  their  special  mission,  and  they  need  little  additional  incitement  and 
guidance  in  it.  We  feel  our  shortcomings  and  deficiencies  more  in  out-of- 


420  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

door  work,  and  who  of  us  but  often  need  responsible  counsel  and  help, 
and  how  invaluable  they  would  be  to  the  juniors  among  us  1 

Our  churches  suffer  from  the  lack  of  oversight.  Pastors  tend  well  the 
folds  over  which  they  are  severally  set ;  but,  with  here  and  there  an  excep 
tion,  our  Presbyteries  and  Synods  very  imperfectly  watch  the  shepherdless 
flocks.  As  ecclesiastical  bodies  do  not  and  cannot  whisper  caution  and 
advice  and  encouragement  and  stimulus  to  those  of  their  members  who  call 
for  the  delicate  administration  of  such  an  office,  so  they  are  too  cumber 
some  for  all  the  activities  of  a  missionary  field.  They  are  compelled  to 
undertake  them  by  the  exigencies  of  new  settlements,  and  are  occasionally 
aroused  to  them  in  established  communities,  but  their  efforts  are  generally 
transient  and  fitful.  And  the  result  is  disastrous.  Scores  and  hundreds 
of  churches  die  of  neglect,  and  scores  and  hundreds  of  opportunities  for 
churches  are  lost.  Episcopacy  has  an  advantage  here,  and  Methodist  Epis 
copacy  is  making  the  most  of  it.  It  takes  up  our  expiring  flocks  and  puts 
them  in  well-tended  folds. 

And  would  not  an  arrangement  for  a  kind  and  measure  of  supervision, 
by  individuals  as  well  as  by  bodies,  abate  an  evil,  of  which  both  our 
church  and  ministers  are  the  victims  ?  I  can  hardly  bring  myself  to  pub 
lish  the  fact,  for  it  seems  like  proclaiming  either  our  weakness  or  our 
shame,  and  yet  the  stress  of  the  case  compels  me  to  state,  that  while  our 
last  minutes  report  4, 181  ministers,  and  4,330  churches,  more  than  1,000 
of  our  ministers  are  stated  supplies,  or  without  permanent  engagements ; 
and  nearly  800  are  wholly  unemployed,  and  less  than  1,500  are  pastors; 
and  more  than  1,500  of  our  churches  are  served  by  stated  supplies,  and 
nearly  1,000  have  no  regular  supplies  of  any  kind.  Suppose  that  one- 
half  of  these  unemployed  ministers  are  aged  or  infirm,  or  otherwise  incom 
petent  for  pulpit  and  pastoral  labor,  we  then  have  400  ministers,  qualified  to 
preach  and  visit,  without  pulpits  and  parishes.  Most  of  the  1,000  vacant 
churches  are  small  and  feeble,  but  the  greater  their  need  of  care,  and  with 
400  able-bodied  and  well-trained  ministers  disengaged  in  our  bounds,  they 
ought  to  be  served. 

The  impossibility  of  a  support  for  these  400  ministers  in  these  1,000 
churches  is  not  the  reason  of  their  being  unemployed,  for  long-continued 
experiment  by  a  sister  denomination  shows  that  it  can  be  furnished.  What 
is  needed,  though  not  all  that  is  needed,  is  an  accepted  medium  of  com 
munication  between  the  two,  and  also  some  degree  of  authority  to  bring 
them  to  terms.  Left,  as  each  church  so  much  is  left,  to  provide  for  itself, 
and  left,  as  each  minister  so  much  is  left,  to  settle  himself,  our  Minutes 
will  continue  to  report  their  humiliating  tale.  And  is  it  not  distressing  to 
think  of  this  amount  of  cultivated  and  consecrated  power  lying  idle  in  the 


THE   RECONSTRUCTION.  421 

midst  of  this  abounding  waste,  and  must  there  not  be  something  faulty  or 
wanting  in  the  administration  that  admits  of  it  ? 

All  modification  of  our  methods  of  ecclesiastical  action  may  seem  too 
perilous  to  be  risked ;  but  more  is  to  be  feared  from  a  timid  conservatism 
than  from  f  bold  amendment.  None  of  us,  I  am  sure,  are  content  with 
our  present  degree  of  efficiency.  We  make  no  comparisons  with  other  de 
nominations,  but  we  are  dissatisfied  with  ourselves.  We  have  not  the 
life,  the  vigor,  the  enterprise  that  become  a  Christian  church  in  this  day 
and  in  this  land. 

According  to  the  plan  of  Reunion  adopted  by  the 
Assemblies  of  1869,  the  Moderators  of  the  two  Assem 
blies  of  1869  jointly  presided  until  the  new  Moderator 
was  chosen.  By  this  arrangement  the  Rev.  Philemon  H. 
Fowler,  D.D.,  Moderator  of  the  Assembly  that  met  in 
May,  1869,  in  the  Church  of  the  Covenant,  New  York, 
having  preached  the  sermon,  the  Rev.  Melancthon  W. 
Jacobus,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Moderator  of  the  Assembly  that 
met  in  May,  1869,  in  the  Brick  Church,  New  York, 
took  the  chair,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  the  votes  and 
deciding  questions  of  order. 

Prayer  having  been  offered  by  Dr.  Jacobus,  the  Rev. 
J.  Trumbull  Backus,  D.D.,  was  by  acclamation  elected 
Moderator.  Also  by  a  unanimous  vote,  the  following 
gentlemen  were  elected  clerks  : 

The  Rev.  Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  D.D.,  Stated  Clerk,  the 
Rev.  Cyrus  Dickson,  D.D.,  Permanent  Clerk ;  and  the 
Rev.  Villeroy  D.  Reed,  D.D.,  Hon.  S.  F.  McCoy,  and 
Ezra  M.  Kingsley,  Esq.,  Temporary  Clerks. 

The  following  telegram  was  read,  and  received  with 
applause : 

ALLEGHENY  CITY,  PA.,  ) 
May  19,  1870.          \ 

To  the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  : 
The  Moderator  of  the  last  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 


422  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

immediately  preceding  the  separation,  sends  greeting  to  the  first  Reunited 
Assembly  of  the  same  through  their  Moderator,  praying  that  their  proceed 
ings  may  be  distinguished  by  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above,  and  cemented 
by  the  charity  which  is  the  bond  of  perfectness. 

DAVID  ELLIOTT. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield,  by  appointment  of  the  Assem 
bly,  prepared  a  reply,  using  for  the  purpose  the  words 
of  Psalm  xcii.,  verses  12-15:  "The  righteous  shall 
flourish  like  the  palm  tree :  he  shall  grow  like  a  cedar 
in  Lebanon.  Those  that  be  planted  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  shall  flourish  in  the  courts  of  our  God.  They 
shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age  ;  they  shall  be  fat 
and  flourishing ;  to  shew  that  the  Lord  is  upright :  he 
is  my  rock,  and  there  is  no  unrighteousness  in  him." 

After  the  preliminary  organization,  in  which  was  thus 
exhibited  an  entire  unanimity,  the  Assembly  commenced 
its  appropriate  work.  A  Joint  Committee  on  Re 
construction  had  been  appointed  by  the  Assemblies  of 
1869.  This  Committee,  of  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mus- 
grave  was  Chairman,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield,  Secre 
tary,  reported  at  an  early  stage  of  the  proceedings.  The 
consideration  of  this  report,  that  involved  the  boundar 
ies  of  the  Synods,  arrangements  for  the  formation  of  new 
Presbyteries,  and  important  constitutional  changes,  oc 
cupied  more  of  the  time  of  the  Assembly  than  any  other 
subject.  It  originally  proposed  the  establishment  of  all 
the  Presbyteries  during  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly 
of  1870,  a  plan  being  suggested  by  which  the  various 
representatives  of  the  Synods  in  the  house  should  meet 
and  nominate  bounds  to  be  afterward  ratified  by  the 
whole  Assembly.  For  this,  the  method  finally  adopted 
was,  after  not  a  little  discussion,  substituted.  The 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION.  423 

specific  work  of  reconstructing  the  Presbyteries  was 
remitted  to  the  Synods,  when  organized,  as  defined 
by  the  Assembly.  These  Synods  were  directed  to 
meet  for  the  purpose  of  thus  arranging  the  bounds 
of  the  new  Presbyteries  previous  to  July  15,  1870. 
In  several  other  particulars  the  very  able  report  of  the 
Joint  Committee  on  Reconstruction  was  changed  by 
amendments,  all  of  which  were  fully  discussed  and  quite 
unanimously  adopted. 

As  this  report  will  possess  a  historical  value,  it  seems 
proper  to  insert  it  in  here  in  its  amended  form  : 

Your  Committee  have  held  three  several  meetings  in  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia  —  one  in  January,  another  in  March,  and  the  final  one  the  present 
month,  just  before  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly.  The  second,  and  most 
important  of  all  our  meetings,  had  the  presence  of  every  member.  We 
have  endeavored  diligently  and  faithfully  to  attend  to  the  business  of  Re 
construction,  which  had  been  intrusted  to  us. 

Our  duties,  as  described  in  the  concurrent  resolutions  of  the  two  As 
semblies  for  our  appointment,  were  —  "to  prepare  and  propose  to  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  of  the  United  Church  a  proper  adjustment  of  the  bounda 
ries  of  the  Presbyteries  and  Synods,  and  the  ratio  of  representation ;  and 
any  amendments  of  the  Constitution,  which  they  may  think  necessary  to 
secure  efficiency  and  harmony  in  the  administration  of  the  Church,  so 
greatly  increased  and  so  rapidly  extending."  Under  this  minute,  espe 
cially  the  latter  part,  many  supposed  our  powers  very  extensive,  and  our 
range  of  subjects  almost  unrestricted.  We  have  not  so  judged,  but  pre 
ferred  to  keep  closely  to  what  is  more  specially  mentioned  or  clearly  im 
plied. 

Numerous  communications  on  these  matters  have  reached  us  ;  a  few  from 
ecclesiastical  bodies,  or  associations  of  ministers,  but  chiefly  from  indi 
viduals  ;  all  which  have  been  respectfully  and  patiently  considered,  though 
the  suggestions  contained  in  some  of  them  we  may  have  failed  to  adopt. 
Many  of  them  either  fell  in  with  our  own  convictions,  or  tended  somewhat 
to  modify  them  ;  a  few  recommended  changes  so  great  and  radical  in  the 
constitution  of  Presbyteries,  Synods,  and  the  Assembly,  that  we  could 
not  approve  of  them ;  some,  we  thought,  might  better  come  before  your 
body  from  another  quarter ;  while  others,  though  important  and  safu- 


424  PRESS  YTEKIAN    EEUNIOIf. 

tary,  would  cause  such  agitation  and  opposition,  if  proposed,  as  might 
seriously  disturb  the  peace  and  harmony  of  our  so-happily  united  Church. 
We  have  thought  proper  to  recommend  only  measures  which  were  of  im 
mediate  and  pressing  necessity,  leaving  other  matters  to  future  and  fuller 
development. 

THE  SYNODS. 

First,  then,  as  to  the  consolidation,  adjustment,  and  defining  the  boun 
daries  of  Synods  ;  we  recommend  the  f ollowing,  viz. ,  the  Synods  of  — 

1.  LONG  ISLAND  ;  to  comprise  the  counties  of  Kings,  Queens,  Suffolk, 
and  Richmond,  K  Y. 

2.  NEW  YORK  ;  to  comprise  the  counties  of  New  York,  Westchester, 
Putnam,  Dutchess,  Rockland,  Orange,  Ulster,  and  Sullivan,  N.  Y.,  with  our 
ministers  and  churches  in  the  New  England  States. 

3.  ALBANY  ;   to  include  north  of  the  line  of  the  Synod  of  New  York, 
and  cast  of  the  west  line  of  the  counties  of  Greene,  Schoharie,  Montgom 
ery,  Fulton,  Hamilton,  and  Franklin,  N.  Y. 

4.  UTICA  ;   to  extend  west  of  the  Synod  of  Albany,  to  the  west  line  of 
Tioga,  Cortland,  Onondaga,  and  Oswego  counties,   N.   Y.,   and  to  the 
State  line  on  the  north. 

5.  GENEVA  ;   to  comprise  the  counties  west  of  Utica  to  the  west  line  of 
Steuben,  Ontario,  and  "Wayne  counties,  N.  Y. 

6.  GENESEE  ;   to  embrace  all  the  counties  of  New  York  west  of  the 
Synod  of  Geneva. 

7.  NEW  JERSEY  ;  to  be  conterminous  with  that  State,  and  have  also  at 
tached  to  it  the  Presbytery  of  Corisco. 

8.  PHILADELPHIA  ;  to  embrace  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania  to  the 
west  line  of  the  counties  of  Bradford,  Sullivan,  Luzerne,  Schuylkill,  Leb 
anon,  and  York ;  and  to  have  attached  to  it  the  Presbytery  of  Western 
Africa. 

9.  HARRISBURG  ;  to  comprise  the  central  counties  of  Pennsylvania  west 
of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  and  east  of  the  west  line  of  the  counties  of 
McKean,  Cameron,  Clearfield,  Blair,  and  Bedford. 

10.  ERIE;   to  comprise  the  north-west  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  west 
of  the  Synod  of  Harrisburg,  and  bounded  south  by  the  counties  of  Cam 
bria  and  Westmoreland,  and  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio  rivers,  to  the  State 
line,  except  that  part  of  Indiana  County  lying  east  and  south  of  the  Black- 
lick  Creek. 

11.  PITTSBURG  ;   to  comprise  the  remainder  of  Pennsylvania  west  of 
the  Synod  of  Harrisburg,  and  south  of  the  Synod  of  Erie ;   with  all  of 
West  Virginia  west  of  the  Allegheny  ridge. 

12.  BALTIMORE  ;   to  contain  Delaware,  Maryland,  the  District  of  Co- 


THE   RECONSTRUCTION.  425 

lumbia,  and  our  ministers  and  churches  in  Virginia  and  West  Virginia, 
east  of  the  Allegheny  ridge ;  to  have  attached  to  it,  also,  the  Presbytery 
of  Rio  Janeiro. 

13.  ATLANTIC;   to  embrace  the  States  of  North  and  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  and  Florida. 

14.  CLEVELAND  ;  to  extend  from  the  Ohio  State  line,  on  the  east,  to  the 
west  and  south  lines  of  the  counties  of  Lorain,  Medina,  Summit,  Stark, 
Tuscarawas,  Guernsey,  Noble,  and  Monroe,  Ohio. 

15.  TOLEDO  ;   to  comprise  the  counties  west  of  the  Synod  of  Cleveland, 
and  to  be  bounded  by  the  east  and  south  lines  of  the  counties  of  Erie, 
Huron,  Crawford,   "Wyandot,   Hardin,   Logan,   Champaign,   Shelby,   and 
Mercer,  Ohio. 

16.  CINCINNATI;  to  comprise  the  counties  bounded  by  the  north  and  east 
lines  of  Darke,  Miami,  Clark,  Greene,  Fayette,  Ross,  Vinton,  and  Gallia, 
Ohio. 

1 7.  COLUMBUS  ;   to  comprise  the  remaining,  being  the  central,  counties 
of  the  State  of  Ohio. 

18.  MICHIGAN;  to  embrace  the  whole  of  the  lower  peninsula  of  that 
State. 

19.  KENTUCKY  ;  to  be  conterminous  with  that  State. 

20.  TENNESSEE  ;   to  embrace  the  States  of  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  and 
Texas,  with  all  our  ministers  and  churches  in  the  States  intervening. 

21.  INDIANA,  SOUTH;   to  extend  to  the  northern  line  of  the  counties  of 
"Wayne,   Henry,  Hancock,   Marion,   Hendricks,  Putnam,  Clay,  and  Vigo, 
Ind. 

22.  INDIANA,    NORTH;  to    embrace  all    of  the   State   north  of  this 
line. 

23.  ILLINOIS,  SOUTH  ;   to  comprise  all  of  the  State  south  of  the  north 
line  of  Edgar,  Douglas,   Moultrie,   Shelby,  Christian,   Montgomery,  Ma- 
coupin,  Green,  and  Calhoun  counties. 

24.  ILLINOIS,  CENTRAL  ;  to  comprise  the  counties  north  of  the  above 
line  to  the  south  line  of  Kankakee,  Grundy,  La  Salle,  Putnam,  Bureau, 
Henry,  and  Mercer  counties,  111. 

25.  ILLINOIS,  NORTH  ;  to  comprise  the  remaining  counties  of  the  State, 
bounded   on  the   south  by  the   north  line   of  the   Synod   of    Illinois, 
Central. 

26.  WISCONSIN  ;  to  take  in  all  that  State,  the  upper  peninsula  of  Mich 
igan,  and  the  county  of  St.  Louis  in  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

27.  MINNESOTA  ;  to  comprise  the  State  of  Minnesota,  except  as  above, 
and  the  territory  of  Dacotah. 

28.  IOWA,  NORTH  ;  to  comprise  all  the  State  of  Iowa  north  of  the  south 


426  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

line  of    Clinton,  Jones,    Linn,  Benton,   Tama,  Marshall,   Story,   Boone, 
Greene,  Carroll,  Crawford,  and  Manona  counties. 

29.  IOWA,  SOUTH  ;  to   comprise  the  remainder  of  the  State  of  Iowa, 
with  Nebraska  and  the  Territory  of  Wyoming. 

30.  MISSOURI  ;  to  be  conterminous  with  the  State  of  Missouri. 

31.  KANSAS  ;  to  extend  over  that  State,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and  the 
Indian  Territories. 

32.  PACIFIC  ;  to   embrace  all  the  region  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains. 

33.  INDIA  ;    to   comprise  all  our  missionaries  and  churches  in  that 
country. 

34.  CHINA  ;  to  comprise  all  our  missionaries  and  churches  in  China, 
Siam,  and  Japa.n. 

THE   PRESBYTERIES. 

In  regard  to  fixing  the  boundaries  of  the  various  Presbyteries,  which 
seemed  as  distinctly  assigned  to  us,  we  have  felt  not  only  that  it  would 
be  a  most  onerous  task,  which  we  could  hardly  do,  for  all  parts,  with 
just  discrimination,  or  to  general  satisfaction,  but  that  it  seemed  to  fall 
more  properly  under  the  province  of  the  different  Synods  or  their  repre 
sentatives,  who  could  do  it,  when  assembled,  more  understandingly  and  to 
the  fuller  content  of  those  interested,  than  if  done  by  us  or  by  this  As 
sembly.  Accordingly,  it  is  proposed  that  this  specific  work  be  remitted 
to  the  several  Synods,  as  now  defined  by  this  Assembly.  And,  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  uniformity  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  Synods 
throughout  the  whole  Church,  it  is  recommended  that  each  Synod  being 
convened,  as  hereinafter  provided,  shall  organize  the  Presbyteries  within 
its  bounds  in  accordance  with  the  following  general  principles,  viz.  : 

1.  That  each  several  Presbytery,  with  the  ministers  and  churches  within 
its  limits,  be  defined  as  to  boundaries  by  geographical  lines,  or  with  re 
spect  to  the  most  convenient  lines  of  travel. 

2.  That  Presbyteries  be  enlarged,  and  the  formation  of  small  ones  be 
discouraged ;  none  formed  hereafter  to  consist  of  less  than  five  ministers, 
the  quorum  for  business  remaining  as  heretofore. 

3.  That  in  the  formation  or  arrangement  of  Presbyteries  by  the  respec 
tive  Synods  it  be  recommended  that  no  Presbytery  consist  of  less  than  ten 
ministers  —  except  in  outlying,  frontier,  and  missionary  districts,  and  then 
to  be  constituted  as  large  as  possible. 

4.  That  when  two  or  more  congregations,  on  different  sides  of  a  Syn- 
odical  or  Presbyterial  line,  are  under  one  pastoral  charge,  they  shall  all, 
for  the  time,  belong  to  that  Presbytery  with  which  the  minister  is  con 
nected,  but  only  so  long  as  such  pastoral  relation  continues. 


THE    EECONSTETJCnON.  427 

5.  That  ministers  without  charge  are  required  to  unite  with  that  Pres 
bytery  within  the  geographical  limits  of  which  they  ordinarily  reside,  or 
are  nearest  to,  and  to  which  they  shall  be  amenable  for  the  proper  discharge 
of  their  ordination  engagements. 

6.  That  the  Presbyteries  and  Synods  heretofore  existing,  which  shall 
lose  their  present  organization  by  consolidation  under  these  arrangements, 
shall  be  considered  and  designated  as  continuing  their  succession  in  that 
Synod,  now  defined,  or  Presbytery  to  be  constituted,  which  includes  the 
largest  portion,  counting  both  ministers  and  churches  of  said  body  as  ex 
isting  May  19th,  1870,  to  preserve  its  records,  and  attend,  as  may  be  found 
necessary,  to  its  business  and  interests. 

That  the  Commissioners  of  the  Presbyteries  within  the  bounds  of  each 
Synod,  as  fixed  by  this  Assembly,  be  respectively  appointed  a  Committee 
to  designate  the  day,  not  later  than  July  15th,  1870,  when,  and  the 
place  where,  each  Synod  shall  hold  its  first  meeting,  for  the  reorganization 
of  the  Presbyteries  within  its  bounds,  and  for  the  transaction  of  any  other 
business  that  may  come  before  them  ;  also,  to  nominate  some  one  to 
preach  the  opening  sermon,  and  preside  until  the  Synod  shall  be  organized 
by  the  choice  of  a  Moderator ;  and  report  the  same  to  this  General  As 
sembly  for  its  action. 

REPRESENTATION. 

The  next  general  subject  is  that  of  Representation  in  the  General  As 
sembly,  and  a  proper  ratio  for  the  same. 

Your  Committee,  after  full  and  repeated  consideration  of  this  impor 
tant  and  difficult  subject,  are  of  the  opinion  that  a  change  to  Synodical 
representation  is  necessary,  in  order  to  bring  the  numbers  in  the  Assembly 
within  due  limits,  and  secure  equal  rights  to  all  parts  of  the  Church. 
But,  so  far  as  we  can  discover,  the  Church  generally  is  not  yet  prepared 
for  such  a  change ;  and  the  Committee  desire  to  avoid  all  occasion  of 
discord  in  our  united  Church,  or  needless  discussions  on  this  subject  in 
this  General  Assembly.  Therefore,  no  change  from  Presbyterial  represen 
tation  is  proposed ;  nor  would  we  at  present  advise  any  change  in  the 
ratio  of  representation,  but  leave  the  matter  as  it  is  ordered  by  chapter 
xii.,  section  2,  of  the  Form  of  Government. 

LIMITATION  OP   APPEALS. 

For  the  relief  of  the  General  Assembly  in  the  dispatch  of  business, 
and  to  discourage  pertinacious  litigation  in  Church  courts,  the  Committee 
recommend  that  all  Appeals,  References,  and  Complaints  terminate  at  the 
Synod,  except  in  relation  to  questions  of  constitutional  law,  or  the  trial 
of  a  minister  for  heresy  in  doctrine. 


428  PEESBYTEKIAN 


STANDING  RULES. 

For  the  purpose  of  securing  the  necessary  constitutional  changes  for 
the  foregoing  objects,  the  Committee  propose  that  this  General  Assembly 
send  down  to  the  Presbyteries  the  following  Overtures,  viz.  : 

1.  In  the  Form  of  Government,   chapter  x.,   section  2,  after  the  word 
Ministers,  to  insert,   i(  in  number  not  less  than  five." 

2.  In  the  Form  of  Government,  chapter  xii.,  section  4,  to  add  to  the 
first  sentence,  at  its  close,  the  following  words  :  '  '  and  which  relate  exclu 
sively  to  the  construction  of  the  Constitution,  or  the  trial  of  a  minister 
for  heresy  in  doctrine." 

3.  In  the  Form  of  Government,   chapter  xi.,  at  the  end  of  section 
4,    to   add    the  following  sentence  :     '  '  Every  case  of    the  trial   of    a 
minister  for  heresy  in  doctrine,  and  all  questions  relating  exclusively  to 
the  construction  of  the  Constitution,  may  be  carried  by  appeal  or  complaint 
to  the  General  Assembly  ;  in  all  other  cases  or  questions  the  decision 
of  the  Synod  shall  be  final." 

4.  In  the  Book  of  Discipline,  chapter  vii.  ,  section  2,  to  read  as  follows, 
viz.  :    "  Every  kind  of  decision  which  is  formed  in  any  church  judicatory, 
except  the  highest,  may  be  reviewed  by  a  superior  judicatory,  subject  to 
the  limitation  of  appeals  from  the  Synod  as  provided  in  the  Form  of 
Government,  and  may  be  carried  before  it  in  one  or  the  other  of  the  four 
following  ways." 

Moreover,  it  is  recommended  that  the  Assembly  instruct  and  order  all 
the  Presbyteries,  when  reconstructed,  at  their  first  appointed  meeting,  to 
vote  directly  yea  or  nay  on  these  several  Overtures,  and  send  forthwith 
an  attested  copy  of  their  action  to  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Assembly,  who 
shall  keep  an  accurate  account  of  the  same,  and  report  it  to  the  next  As 
sembly. 

Finally,  your  Committee  will  close  their  report  with  a  suggestion  for 
the  action  of  the  Assembly,  which  they  think  would  secure  greater  effi 
ciency  and  dispatch  in  their  business. 

OVERTURES  TO  THE  ASSEMBLY. 

As  much  time  is  consumed,  and  the  attention  of  the  Assembly  dis 
tracted  with  Overtures,  and  Questions  of  minor  importance,  coming  up 
from  various  quarters,  impeding  the  transaction  of  business  of  more  gen 
eral  interest,  it  is  recommended  that  the  Assembly  order  that,  hereafter, 
Bills  and  Overtures  come  up  only  from  Synods  or  Presbyteries;  yet 
that  this  may  not  prevent  any  Committee  of  Bills  and  Overtures  from 
bringing  before  the  house,  of  its  own  motion,  upon  a  two-thirds  vote  of 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION".  429 

the  Committee,  any  matter  which  they  may  deem  of  sufficient  importance 
to  engage  the  attention  of  the  General  Assembly. 

After  the  adoption  of  this  report  as  amended,  ar 
rangements  were  immediately  made  for  convening  the 
various  Synods  defined  by  it.  An  enabling  act,  prepared 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield  and  Hon.  William  Strong,  was 
also  passed,  by  which  the  several  Synods  and  the  Pres 
byteries  that  compose  them  become  the  legal  successors 
of  those  into  which  the  Church  was  formerly  divided. 
Since  the  adjournment  of  the  Assembly  these  Synods 
have  met  in  conformity  with  its  appointment,  and,  with 
the  greatest  harmony,  have  performed  their  part,  in 
turn  defining  the  bounds  of  the  new  Presbyteries  ac 
cording  to  the  principles  adopted  in  the  report  on 
Reconstruction.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  thus, 
without  any  friction  or  dissatisfaction,  the  number  of 
the  Presbyteries  has  been  reduced  from  two  hundred 
and  fifty -nine  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-five.  Most  of 
these  are  well  bounded  by  geographical  lines,  so  laid 
down  that  the  convenience  of  the  members  of  them, 
and  the  advantage  of  the  churches  composing  them, 
are  well  secured. 

When  the  Reunion  was  still  in  progress,  and  not  yet 
consummated,  the  remark  was  frequently  heard  that 
the  relation  of  the  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARIES  to  the 
General  Assembly  would  give  rise  to  difficult  and  deli 
cate  questions.  Some  of  them  were  already  subject  to 
the  Assembly's  control ;  others  were  under  Presbyterial 
supervision,  or  that  of  a  Board  of  Directors.  It  was 
feared  that  the  effort  to  bring  them  all  under  one  plan 
of  administration  satisfactory  to  the  whole  Church 


430  PBESBYTEBIAN    REUNION. 

would  occasion  prolonged,  perhaps  excited  discussions. 
Happily,  such  fears  were  not  justified  by  the  event. 
In  the  Providence  of  God,  at  a  very  early  stage  of  its 
sessions,  the  whole  matter  was  brought  before  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly,  in  such  a  form  as  seemed  to  meet  the 
views  of  all  the  brethren,  and  to  promise  in  the  future 
the  utmost  harmony  and  success  in  the  management 
and  direction  of  these  Seminaries.  The  Directors  of 
the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  had  pre 
pared  a  memorial,  which  was  read  to  the  Assembly. 
In  this  paper  they  suggest  as  a  rule  and  plan,  that  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  each  Seminary  be  authorized  to 
appoint  its  professors,  subject  to  the  veto  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly.  A  Memorial  appended  to  the  Report 
of  the  Directors  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary 
made  request  for  the  same  rule,  asking  also  that  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  Princeton  Seminary  have  power 
besides  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  number,  subject  to  the 
Assembly's  veto.  In  behalf  of  the  Trustees  of  Auburn 
and  Lane  Seminaries,  representations  were  made  that 
their  Boards  will  give  most  cordial  assent  to  the  plan 
proposed,  or  to  any  other  plan  which  the  Assembly 
adopts.  In  view  of  these  communications,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Musgrave,  in  the  course  of  some  remarks  upon  the  Re 
port  of  the  Directors  of  Princeton  Seminary,  proceeded 
to  say : 

Will  you  allow  me  to  add,  that  this  is  an  additional  cause  for  congratu 
lation  and  for  thanksgiving  to  God  [applause] ;  that  even  these  questions 
of  the  Theological  Seminaries,  which  we  thought  the  most  difficult  to 
adjust  and  that  would  be  likely  to  give  us  the  greatest  trouble,  are  thus 
amicably  adjusted  by  their  respective  Boards  of  Directors.  [Applause.] 
Is  it  not  another  proof  that  the  whole  Reunion  is  from  God,  and  that  we 


THE   EECONSTEUCTION.  431 

have  the  earnest  of  perpetual  unity  and  harmony  not  only,  but  of  in 
creased  efficiency  in  every  department  of  our  work  ?     [Applause.  ] 

In  accordance  with  these  views  the  Committee  on 
Theological  Seminaries  reported  the  following  plan 
and  resolutions  to  the  Assembly,  which  were  subse 
quently  adopted : 

1.  Accepting  the  offer  so   generously  made  by   the  Directors   of  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  in  New  York,  a  Seminary  independent  hith 
erto  of  all  direct  ecclesiastical  control,  to  invest  the  General  Assembly  with 
the  right  of  a  veto  in  the  election  of  Professors  in  that  institution,  this 
Assembly  would  invite  all  those  Theological  Seminaries  not  now  under 
the  control  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  adopt,  at  their  earliest  convenience, 
the   same  rule  and  method,  to  the  end  that  throughout  the  whole  Pres 
byterian  Church  there  may  be  uniform  and  complete  confidence  in  those 
intrusted  with  the  training  of  our  candidates  for  the  ministry. 

2.  That  the  several  Boards  of  Directors  of  those  Seminaries  which  are 
now  under  the  control  of  the  General  Assembly  shall  IDC  authorized  to 
elect,  suspend,  and  displace  the  Professors  of  the  Seminaries  under  their 
care,  subject  in  all  cases  to  the  veto  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  whom  they 
shall  annually  make  a  full  report  of  their  proceedings,  and  to  whom  their 
minutes  shall  be  submitted  whenever  the  Assembly  shall  require  them  to 
be  produced.     These  Boards  shall  further  be  authorized  to  fix  the  salaries 
of  the  Professors,  and  to  fill  their  own  vacancies,  subject  in  all  cases  to 
the  veto  of  the  General  Assembly. 

3.  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  by  the  Assembly  to 
propose  such  alterations  in  the  plans  of  the  Seminaries  now  under  the  con 
trol  of  the  Assembly,  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  to  cany  into  effect  the 
principles  above  stated,  and  that  said  Committee  report  to  this  or  to  the 
next  succeeding  Assembly, 

4.  In  case  the  Board  of  Directors  of  any  Theological   Seminary  now 
under  the  control  of  the  General  Assembly  should  prefer  to  retain  their 
present  relation  to   this  body,  the  plan  of  such  Seminary  shall  remain 
unaltered. 

Passing  in  review  the  Assembly's  work  of  Recon 
struction,  it  is  not  essential  to  observe  as  to  the  record 
the  same  order  in  which  the  different  topics  came  up  for 


432  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

decision.  With  reference  to  all  the  Boards  and  Perma 
nent  Committees  of  both  the  Old  and  the  New  School, 
the  Assemblies  of  1869,  at  their  adjourned  meetings  at 
Pittsburg,  raised  Joint  Committees  to  combine  and 
consolidate  the  former  organizations,  and  to  report 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  1870.  In  each  case  these 
Committees  faithfully  discharged  their  trust,  and,  with 
some  judicious  modifications,  their  reports  were  adopted. 
The  great  importance  of  the  subject  demands  an  early 
reference  to  the  plans  adopted  for  HOME  MISSIONS 
and  for  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  The  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions  of  the  Old  School,  and  the  Permanent  Com 
mittee  on  Home  Missions  of  the  New  School,  each 
presented  its  Annual  Eeport  to  the  Assembly.  A 
Standing  Committee,  of  which  the  Chairman  was  of 
the  late  Old  School  branch,  carefully  considered  these 
documents.  In  reviewing  them  in  its  report  and 
resolutions,  this  Committee  spoke  in  terms  of  approba 
tion  with  reference  to  both  organizations,  commending 
the  efficiency  and  competency  of  their  management. 
The  following  extract  from  the  Report  of  the  New 
School  Permanent  Committee  on  Home  Missions  was 
especially  approved,  as  well  calculated  to  indicate  the 
proposed  future  policy  of  the  new  Board  in  the  Re 
united  Church : 

There  was  an  obvious  propriety  that  we  should  insure  those  whom  we 
sent  into  the  field  against  suffering.  We  first  guaranteed  them  $600 
and  their  necessary  travelling  expenses,  and  as  prices  advanced  we  were 
compelled  to  advance  the  rate  per  annum  $200  more.  We  found  in  the 
field  at  first  many  who,  for  want  of  adequate  support,  could  not  give 
themselves  wholly  to  their  ministry.  Some  were  teachers,  many  were 
farmers,  and  in  consequence  many  of  them  were  non-resident  stated 


THE   EECO^STEUCTION".  433 

supplies.     "We  have  believed  it  a  better  policy  and  the  only  true  economy 
to  pay  the  laborer  more,  so  that  we  could  command  his  entire  services. 

The  Joint  Committee  on  Home  Missions  had  recom 
mended  that  the  name  of  the  new  Board  be,  "  The 
Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America,"  This  suggestion 
was  adopted,  and  also  the  following  provisions,  with 
reference  to  the  late  "  Board  of  Domestic  Missions," 
and  "  Permanent  Committee  on  Home  Missions : " 

1.  That  this  Assembly  designate  the  locality  in  which  the  chief  opera 
tions  of  the  new  Board  shall  be  carried  on,  and  in  which  the  principal 
office  for  that  purpose  shall  be  located. 

2.  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  by  this  Assembly,  whose   duty  it 
shall  be  to  endeavor  to  procure  all  the  legislation  required  by  the   exi 
gencies  of  the  case,  and  direct  the  transfer  of  property  now  held  by  the 
two  bodies    above   described,    on   receiving  the   opinion    of   competent 
counsel  that  the  authority  of  the  new  body  is  perfect. 

3.  Meantime,  till  such  a  result  has  been  reached,  that  both  of  the  exist 
ing  organizations  be  kept  up  in  the  form  required  by  their  respective 
charters. 

Subsequently,  by  an  affirmative  vote  of  two-thirds, 
the  Assembly  decided  that  the  place  for  the  future 
Board  of  Home  Missions  shall  be  the  city  of  New 
York.  It  having  been  agreed  that  the  existence  of 
both  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  and  the  Perma 
nent  Committee  on  Home  Missions,  as  corporate  bodies, 
be  maintained  until  such  a  time  as  they  can  be  joined 
into  one  Board,  thereupon  two  Secretaries  and  a  Trea 
surer  were  elected  by  acclamation,  as  the  officers  of  the 
new  Board  into  which  they  are  to  be  merged.  The 
Assembly,  however,  while  thus  exercising  its  right  to 
designate  the  officers  of  one  of  its  Boards,  expressed  its 
desire  that  the  act,  apparently  necessary  in  the  peculiar 

28 


434  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

exigencies  of  the  case,  might  not  be  used  as  a  precedent 
under  ordinary  circumstances.  Arrangements  were 
also  made  by  which  the  necessary  legislation  for  com 
bining  both  the  existing  organizations  into  one  may  be 
promptly  and  satisfactorily  obtained.  The  new  Board 
will  consist  of  twenty  members,  five  constituting  a 
quorum.  There  is  every  indication  that  in  the  future 
Church  our  Domestic  Missionaries  will  be  more  ade 
quately  supported,  and  that  their  work  will  more 
thoroughly  than  ever  before  enlist  the  prayers  and 
efforts  of  all  God's  people. 

In  many  portions  of  the  field  where  two  or  more 
Mission  stations  have  hitherto  existed,  these  will  be 
combined  into  one,  which,  by  its  greater  strength,  will 
become  more  efficient  for  good.  By  a  similar  concen 
tration  of  resources,  in  various  places  where  two  mis 
sionaries  have  hitherto  labored,  one  will  be  retained, 
and  the  other  commissioned  to  a  new  and  more  desti 
tute  position,  where  he  will  find  ample  room  in  which 
to  work  for  Christ. 

As  to  FOREIGN  MISSIONS,  the  task  of  the  General 
Assembly  was  more  simple,  as  there  were  not  two 
Boards  or  Committees  to  be  fused  together.  The  New 
School  having  hitherto  performed  its  part  in  the  mat 
ter  through  the  American  Board,  the  only  measure 
necessary  was  to  give  both  former  branches  a  proper 
representation  for  the  future  management  of  the  work. 
The  consolidated  Church  adopts  as  its  own  the  old 
organization,  retaining  its  name.  The  number  of  the 
Board  was  fixed  by  the  Assembly  at  fifteen  mem 
bers,  divided  into  classes  of  five  each,  each  class  serving 
three  years,  and  one-third  of  the  whole  number  con- 


THE   EECONSTETTCTION.  435 

stituting  a  quorum.  The  churches  of  the  former  New 
School  branch  are  preparing,  after  the  present  financial 
year,  to  retire  from  their  long  and  pleasant  connection 
with  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  For 
eign  Missions,  and  to  bring  their  contributions  and 
their  co-operation  to  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions.  It  was  understood  that  a  third  Secretary, 
elected  from  the  former  New  School  branch,  would  be 
added  to  the  two  former  Secretaries  of  the  Board. 
The  work  of  assuming  the  support  and  control  of  cer 
tain  missions  hitherto  sustained  by  the  New  School 
branch,  in  correspondence  with  the  American  Board, 
must  evidently  be  a  gradual  one.  Harmony  and' 
kindly  feeling  will  doubtless  still  obtain  between  those 
sister  societies,  that  work  together  in  different  fields 
for  a  common  object.  A  Committee  appointed  by  the 
New  School  Assembly,  in  1869,  to  confer  with  the 
American  Board,  was  continued  to  complete  the  nego 
tiations  already  commenced,  and  to  report  to  the  next 
Assembly. 

The  report  of  this  Committee,  of  which  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns  was  the  Chairman,  is  so 
important  that  it  is  given  in  full  in  the  Appendix, 
as  well  as  the  action  of  the  Prudential  Committee  of 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 

O 

Missions,  to  which  the  conference  of  the  Assembly's 
Committee  with  the  officers  of  that  Board  gave  rise. 
The  subject,  of  PUBLICATION  occupied  much  of  the 
attention  of  the  Assembly,  and  elicited  considerable 
debate.  Both  portions  of  the  Church  possessed  organ 
izations  well  officered  and  appointed  to  perform  the 
work  of  preparing  and  circulating  religious  literature 


436  PRESBYTERIAN   KEUTHON". 

on  a  liberal  scale.  Both  were  located  in  Philadelphia. 
Both  were  found  to  be  operating  faithfully  and  suc 
cessfully.  The  General  Assembly  combined  them  into 
one  Board,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Publication."  This  Board  is  to  be  composed  of  forty- 
eight  members,  taken  in  equal  number  from  each  of  the 
late  branches — -one-half  ministers.  They  are  divided 
into  three  classes,  each  class  serving  for  three  years. 
Presbyteries  are  hereafter  to  appoint  a  Presbyterial 
Publication  Committee,  which  Committee  shall,  in  that 
Presbytery,  supervise  the  work  of  securing  an  annual 
collection  for  this  Board  from  each  of  its  churches ;  shall 
search  out  and  recommend  to  the  Board  suitable  per 
sons  to  act  as  colporteurs ;  shall  correspond  with  the 
Board  in  reference  to  its  work  in  that  Presbytery; 
and  shall  do  whatever  else  may  tend  to  promote  the 
work  and  interests  of  the  Board,  and  to  secure  a  thor 
ough  distribution  of  the  Board's  publications  within 
and  throughout  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery. 

All  the  property  of  both  the  former  organizations  is 
to  be  united  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  new  Board, 
and  an  equal  representation  within  it  is  secured  to  both 
of  the  former  branches  of  the  Church.  A  prolonged 
debate  upon  the  appropriation  of  the  future  profits  of 
the  Board  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  the  following 
important  declaration : 


It  is  to  be  understood  by  all  parties  to  this  arrangement,  and  it  is  di 
rected  by  this  General  Assembly,  that  the  property  thus  vested  in  "The 
Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,"  together  with  all 
which  may  hereafter  be  given  to  it  for  publication  purposes,  and  all  the 
net  profits  of  its  business,  are  to  be  perpetually  and  sacredly  used  in  the 
work  of  publishing  and  diffusing  a  sound  religious  literature,  and  for  no 


THE   EECONSTEUCTIOlf.  437 

other  purpose,  in  accordance  with  trusts  heretofore  accepted  and  pledges 
heretofore  given. 

It  was  also  decided  to  sell  the  real  estate  used  pre 
viously  by  the  Old  School  branch,  and  to  erect  upon 
the  premises  of  the  other,  or  near  them,  a  larger  house, 
adequate  to  the  extended  operations  of  the  new  Board. 
The  resolution  to  effect  this  result  was  followed  by 
the  adoption  of  the  following : 

In  order  that  the  above  recommendation  may  be  carried  out  so  as  to 
provide  ample  accommodation  for  the  Board's  future  business,  and  for  all 
our  other  Presbyterian  interests  in  this  city,  without  the  absorption  of  any 
part  of  its  capital  now  used  and  needed  for  the  publication  and  distribu 
tion  of  a  religious  literature,  it  is  recommended  that  the  sum  of  one  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars  be  raised  among  our  churches  and  people  for  the 
erection  and  equipment  of  said  Publication  House,  and  all  contributions 
made  thereto  shall  be  recognized  as  a  part  of  the  offering  of  five  millions 
of  dollars,  which  it  was  at  Pittsburg  resolved  to  raise. 

The  Assembly  also  adopted  these  recommendations : 

We  recommend  the  Board  to  give  special  and  prominent  attention  to 
Sabbath-school  literature,  and  to  its  introduction  into  Sabbath  schools. 

We  recommend  that  the  Board,  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible,  consider 
the  propriety  of  establishing  a  Department  of  Sabbath  Schools,  whose 
office  it  shall  be  to  promote  the  number  and  efficiency  of  Sabbath  schools 
throughout  the  congregations  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

We  recommend  that  the  excellent  ' '  Sabbath  School  Visitor  "  should  be 
circulated  much  more  widely  than  it  has  hitherto  been,  and  that  the  pas 
tors  and  churches  should  exert  themselves  to  secure  this  end. 

We  recommend  that  the  two  publications,  the  "Record"  and  the 
"Presbyterian  Monthly,"  be  merged  in  one,  and  that  measures  be  devised 
and  adopted  to  have  that  one  periodical  competently  edited,  and  full  of 
information  likely  to  interest  the  families  of  our  people. 

Deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  colportage  work  conducted 
by  the  Board,  we  would  strongly  urge  its  extension,  as  being  the  means 
best  fitted  to  make  known  the  truths  of  salvation  to  multitudes  in  our 
country,  and  to  Roman  Catholics  and  persons  separated  from  the  ordinary 
means  of  grace. 


438  PRESBYTERIAN" 

"We  recommend  that  the  Board  consider  what  may  be  the  best  means 
of  effecting  some  understanding  as  to  the  issue  of  Books  of  Psalmody,  and 
report  on  the  subject  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

"We  are  happy  to  find  that  Books  and  Tracts  have  been  furnished  so  gen 
erally  to  ministers,  to  domestic  and  foreign  missionaries,  and  to  Sabbath 
schools ;  and  recommend  that  these  gifts  be  continued  and  increased. 


It  will  be  evident,  from  a  careful  perusal  of  the 
above  papers,  that  in  no  respect  was  the  action  of  the 
Assembly  more  thorough  or  provident  than  in  its  di 
rection  of  this  important  subject.  The  new  Board  of 
Publication  enters  upon  its  career  with  ample  accom 
modations  for  its  printing  and  other  mechanical  work, 
with  abundant  capital,  with  an  eligible  salesroom,  and 
with  the  ripe  experience  of  its  officers.  A  bright 
future,  full  of  the  triumphs  of  saving  truth,  is  assured 
to  it,  if  God's  blessing  accompanies  it  hereafter  as  it 
has  accompanied  its  predecessors. 

In  their  plans  for  the  EDUCATION  of  young  men 
with  a  view  to  the  ministry,  but  little  difference  was 
found  to  exist  between  the  policy  of  the  Board  of  Edu 
cation  of  the  Old  School,  and  that  of  the  Permanent 
Committee  on  Education  of  the  New  School.  Upon  the 
recommendation  of  the  Joint  Committee  to  adjust  their 
affairs,  the  Assembly  adopted  the  following  measures : 

The  title  of  the  new  Board  is,  "The  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presby 
terian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America."  Its  objects  shall  be  the 
general  superintendence  of  the  Church's  work  in  furnishing  a  pious,  edu 
cated,  and  efficient  ministry  in  sufficient  numbers  to  meet  the  calls  of  its 
congregations,  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  destitute  classes  and  regions  in 
our  own  country,  and  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.  It  shall  provide  for  the  collection  and  judicious  distribu 
tion  of  the  funds  which  may  be  requisite  in  the  proper  education  of  candi 
dates  for  the  ministry  under  its  care,  and  it  shall,  in  co-operation  with  the 


THE'  EECONSTEUCTION.  439 

ecclesiastical  courts,  do  whatever  may  bo  proper  and  necessary  to  develop 
an  active  interest  in  education  throughout  the  Church. 

The  Board  will  consist  of  twelve  members,  of  which 
six  are  to  be  ministers.  It  is  to  be  divided,  like  the 
other  Boards,  into  three  classes,  so  that  a  portion  will 
be  elected  each  year.  Five  constitute  a  quorum.  The 
fifth  and  sixth  articles  of  the  Constitution  define  the 
functions  of  the  Board,  and  the  relation  of  the  Pres 
byteries  to  it,  thus : 

ARTICLE  V. 

Functions.  — SEC.  1.  The  Board  shall  act  through  the  Presbyteries  of  the 
Church.  Candidates  for  the  ministry,  when  properly  examined  and  re 
ceived  by  the  Presbyteries,  and  recommended  for  aid  to  the  Board,  shall 
receive  the  amount  specified,  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the  Assembly, 
provided  in  all  cases  that  a  discretionary  power,  necessary  to  the  general 
trust  committed,  shall  be  exercised  by  the  Board ;  and  the  Board  shall  re 
quire  that  each  recommendation  shall  be  accompanied  with  such  informa 
tion  as  may  be  necessary  to  the  intelligent  and  judicious  performance  of 
its  duties. 

SEC.  2.  It  shall  exercise  a  general  supervisory  care  over  the  students, 
through  annual  renewals  of  recommendations  from  Presbyteries,  and  quar 
terly  reports  from  instructors,  and  through  the  correspondence  of  its  Secre 
tary,  and  his  personal  visits  to  literary  and  theological  institutions  and 
the  judicatories  of  the  Church,  and  by  other  appropriate  instrumentalities. 

SEC.  3.  It  shall  take  all  suitable  means  to  inform  the  Church,  as  to  the 
duties  and  interests  relating  to  the  consecration  of  her  young  men  to  the 
office  of  the  ministry,  and  their  sound  and  thorough  education,  and  to 
urge  the  effective  care  of  her  judicatories  over  them ;  and  it  shall  make 
such  statements  and  appeals  as  are  calculated  to  secure  contributions  suffi 
cient  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  ends.  It  shall  make  a  full  annual  re 
port  of  its  work  to  the  General  Assembly. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

Relation  of  the  Presbyteries  to  the  Board.  — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each 
Presbytery  to  see  that  collections  are  taken  up  annually  for  this  cause  in 
all  the  churches  under  its  care ;  to  make  the  subject  of  increase  of  candi 
dates  for  the  ministry  a  topic  of  serious  consideration  in  its  meetings,  at 


440  PKESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

least  once  a  year ;  to  appoint  a  standing  committee  to  act  for  Presbytery  in 
all  matters  pertaining  to  this  cause,  when  it  is  not  in  session ;  to  recommend 
to  the  Board  proper  cases  for  its  aid,  and  to  make  an  annual  report  of  the 
transactions  of  the  Presbytery  on  the  whole  subject  to  the  Board,  previous 
to  the  meetings  of  the  General  Assembly. 

The  Board  is  to  be  located  in  Philadelphia,  and  is 
instructed  to  take  such  legal  steps  as  are  necessary  to 
secure  to  it  the  present  property  of  the  Board  of  Edu 
cation,  located  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  Permanent 
Committee,  located  at  New  York ;  so  that  this  property, 
and  any  funds  with  which  either  is  or  may  be  in 
trusted,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  received  by  bequest 
or  otherwise,  for  purposes  of  ministerial  education, 
shall  be  managed  by  one  and  the  same  Board  and  its 
successors  as  trustees  thereof;  and  that  said  Board 
have  authority  to  apply  for  and  obtain  a  charter  of 
incorporation,  or  such  modification  of  the  existing  char 
ter  as  they  may  deem  proper.  It  is  further  recom 
mended  that  the  organizations  of  the  "  Permanent  Com 
mittee  on  Education"  and  the  "Board  of  Education" 
be  continued,  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  pur 
pose  of  holding  and  transferring  to  the  Board  of  Edu 
cation,  as  arranged  by  the  present  General  Assembly, 
such  funds  and  trusts  as  may  have  been,  or  shall  be, 
committed  to  them. 

In  subsequently  adopting  the  suggestions  of  the 
Standing  Committee  upon  this  subject,  the  General  As 
sembly  acknowledged  the  need  of  a  careful  selection 
of  candidates,  and  of  a  high  standard  of  qualifications 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  It  recommended  ample 
provision  for  the  wants  of  the  students  of  the  Church  ; 
and,  while  acknowledging  that  the  processes  and  ap- 


THE   RECONSTRUCTION.  441 

pliances  for  the  education  of  the  rising  ministry  admit 
of  great  improvements,  insisted  upon  the  importance  of 
having  the  youthful  candidates  trained  to  preach  ivell, 
in  the  highest  sense  of  the  phrase.  The  above  extracts 
from  the  Assembly's  action  sufficiently  exhibit  the  fact 
that  the  Reunited  Church  recognizes  the  indispensable 
importance  of  a  thoroughly  trained  ministry,  while 
making  ample  provision  to  secure  it  for  its  future  mem 
bers.  The  new  Board  of  Education  goes  into  opera 
tion  with  about  six  hundred  young  men  under  its  care, 
more  than  two  hundred  of  whom  will  be  pursuing  their 
theological  studies.  With  the  results  of  a  past  useful  his 
tory  to  aid  its  highly  respected  officers,  and  the  prayers 
and  benefactions  of  the  many  thousands  of  our  Zion,  it 
cannot  fail  to  do  its  precious  work  wisely  and  well. 

As  to  CHURCH  ERECTION,  the  action  of  the  General 
Assembly  was  well  considered  and  thorough.  It  was 
rendered  the  more  simple,  because,  while  the  Church 
Erection  Fund  of  the  New  School  was  a  chartered  in 
stitution,  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  of  the  Old 
School  was  without  a  charter  or  permanent  funds. 
Among  the  recommendations  adopted  were  these : 

That  the  operations  of  the  United  Church  be  carried  on  under  the  charter 
of  "The  Trustees  of  the  Church  Erection  Fund  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America,"  and  that  its  location  be  continued  in  the 
city  of  New  York. 

That  the  members  of  the  Board  be  chosen  impartially  from  both  branches 
of  the  Church ;  that  their  number  be  twenty-one,  consisting  of  ten  minis 
ters  and  eleven  elders  acting  in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  Church ; 
and  that  the  entire  Board  so  formed  be  expected  to  meet  at  least  once  each 
year. 

That  fifteen  members,  seven  ministers  and  eight  elders,  shall  reside  in 
the  city  of  New  York  or  its  vicinity.  That  at  an  early  day  an  amend 
ment  of  the  charter  be  obtained,  authorizing  these  fifteen  local  members 


442  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNION. 

to  act  as  Trustees  of  the  Fund ;  but  until  such  change  can  be  secured,  nine 
of  the  fifteen  members  shall  continue  to  hold  the  said  Trusteeship  under 
the  provisions  now  existing. 

That  six  members  of  the  Board,  three  ministers  and  three  elders,  shall 
be  chosen  from  the  West.  This  recommendation  is  made  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  certain  properties  held  by  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  are 
temporarily  located  in  Missouri,  and  require  a  local  supervision.  It  also 
seems  desirable  that  the  Board  shall  have  representatives  on  the  ground 
who  may  secure  those  grants  of  land  which  are  so  freely  offered  for 
Church  purposes  by  railroad  and  town  companies  throughout  the  West ; 
also  to  have  special  oversight  in  the  matter  of  insurance  on  church  proper 
ties  —  a  matter  of  great  importance,  in  which  it  is  feared  there  is  at  present 
great  neglect. 

The  Assembly  also  called  the  attention  of  its  Pres 
byteries  and  churches  to  the  importance  of  this  work. 
Its  language  is : 

If  any  comparison  may  be  made,  it  is  more  important  to  secure  the 
church  edifice  (in  the  present  condition  of  our  frontier,  with  its  rapidly  in 
creasing  land  prices)  than  the  missionary  himself.  We  may  provide  the 
missionary  next  year,  but  with  the  land  for  a  church  it  is  now  or  never. 

In  making  arrangements  for  MINISTEEIAL  RELIEF,  the 
Assembly  of  1870,  availing  itself  of  the  labors  of  its 
Joint  Committee,  arranged-  for  more  thoroughly  supply 
ing  the  wants  of  the  veteran  soldiers  of  the  Church, 
and  their  widows  and  orphans.  The  centre  of  opera 
tions  for  this  necessary  fund  is  to  be  Philadelphia.  It 
is  placed,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Assembly,  in  the 
hands  of  faithful  and  kindly  men.  With  officers  of 
tried  experience  and  fidelity,  it  is  recommended  in  the 
strongest  terms  to  the  justice  and  liberality  of  the 
churches. 

The  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  the  FEEED- 
MEN,  as  its  value  demands,  received  a  full  share  of  time 


THE   EECONSTEUCTION.  443 

and  attention.  In  the  deliberations  that  it  called  forth, 
several  brethren  of  color,  representatives  of  Southern 
Presbyteries,  were  listened  to  with  much  pleasure. 
The  Assembly's  Committee  (Old  School),  and  the  Freed- 
men's  Department  of  the  Presbyterian  Committee  of 
Home  Missions  (New  School),  and  their  secretaries, 
were  praised  for  their  fidelity  and  energy  in  the  prosecu 
tion  of  the  work  committed  to  them. 

It  was  resolved  to  conduct  the  efforts  of  the  Church 
for  the  colored  race  in  this  country,  including  both  their 
religious  and  educational  interests,  under  the  charge  of 
a  Committee  of  twelve  members,  five  being  a  quorum, 
with  its  location  in  the  city  of  Pittsburg.  The  cause 
was  earnestly  commended  to  the  churches,  and  the  var 
ious  Boards  were  recommended  to  co-operate  with  the 
Committee  supervising  it.  In  re-organizing  this  Com 
mittee  the  Assembly  expressed  its  opinion  that  the 
great  need  of  the  Freedmen  to-day  is  a  supply  of  com 
petent  preachers  and  teachers,  raised  up  from  among 
themselves.  It  also  adopted  this  language : 


For  help  in  this  matter  we  look  with  hope  to  Lincoln  University,  Bid- 
die  Memorial  Institute,  and  the  Normal  School  of  Winchester,  Va. ,  and 
other  similar  institutions  established  by  our  Church.  We  especially  urge 
the  necessity  of  providing  schools  where  females  may  enjoy  advantages 
that  may  enable  them  to  keep  pace  with  the  other  sex  in  intellectual  and 
moral  elevation. 


One  of  the  most  important  discussions  of  the  General 
Assembly  occurred  in  connection  with  resolutions  intro 
duced  by  the  Rev.  John  C.  Backus,  D.D.  These  reso 
lutions,  although  not  passed,  and  thus  not  appearing  in 
the  Minutes  for  1870,  deserve  notice  not  only  for  their 


444  PBESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

intrinsic  value,  but  principally  because  the  considera 
tion  of  them  paved  the  way  for  the  suggestion  of  a 
plan  for  the  "  unification  "  of  the  work  of  the  Church, 
to  be  consummated  by  another  Assembly.  One  of 
these  resolutions  is  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  fifteen,  representing  all  sections  of  the 
Church,  and  having  power  to  fill  vacancies,  be  appointed  by  this  General 
Assembly  to  examine  all  the  above  reports  and  the  plans  and  modes  of 
benevolent  operations  of  sister  churches  at  home  and  abroad,  and  with  all 
the  light  thus  gained  to  devise  a  general  uniform  plan,  that  shall  combine 
and  economize  and  give  as  much  efficiency  as  possible  to  all  our  schemes 
of  benevolence,  and  report  the  same  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

In  its  support,  Dr.  Backus  said : 

We  are  about  to  enter  upon  the  great  work  of  this  Church,  which  is  to  de 
vise  the  best  plans  for  the  purpose  of  extending  this  Church  throughout 
the  land  and  throughout  the  world,  according  to  the  great  commission  of 
our  Master.  We  are  in  a  peculiarly  serious  position.  Various  committees 
have  reported  to  us.  There  is  a  great  difference  of  opinion  in  this  body 
in  regard  to  a  great  many  of  the  points  which  they  have  recommended. 
Now,  the  question  is,  Is  this  Reunion  to  be  now  the  means  of  awakening 
a  greater  interest  in  these  great  objects,  and  of  providing  this  Church  with 
the  machinery  and  the  means  that  shall  give  to  them  the  greatest  possible 
success  ? 

We  are,  at  this  time,  about  to  enter  upon  a  great  and  new  sphere  of  ac 
tion.  We  have  a  great  body  which  is  to  be  put  now  in  motion  as  it  has 
never  been  before. 

We  have  four  thousand  ministers,  and  half  a  million  of  members,  and 
half  a  million  of  children  to  be  educated,  and  a  million  of  adherents  ;  and 
now  the  question  is,  How  shall  we  best  enter  upon  this  great  work  ?  Our 
Committees  have  all  been  reporting  to  us  from  time  to  time,  and  have  ren 
dered  a  very  important  service.  They  have  provided  for  the  welding  together 
of  the  Church  in  regard  to  these  various  operations,  and  their  plans  have 
been  well  considered.  But  there  have  been  many  ways  proposed  by  which 
to  bring  out  all  the  powers  and  agencies  of  this  great  Church.  Here  and 
there  are  gentlemen  who  feel  that  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  the 
eldership  of  the  Church  be  developed  in  this  great  matter.  Now,  sir,  we 
have  sessions  which  can  operate  in  this  way.  We  have  Synods  which  cover 


THE   EECONSTRUCTION.  445 

the  larger  districts,  but  none  of  these  are  brought  into  play  in  this  matter. 
If  you  appoint  committees  in  your  Presbyteries,  who  shall  take  the  over 
sight  of  these  benevolent  operations  in  the  churches  under  their  care,  and 
then  make  the  Chairmen  of  the  Presbyterial  Committees  in  which  those 
Presbyteries  are,  and  the  Chairmen  of  the  Synodical  Committees  thus  com 
posed,  constitute  the  Boards  of  this  Church,  then  you  will  have  a  machin 
ery  in  operation  that  will  bring  all  this  body  into  play  in  all  its  various 
powers  and  agencies,  so  as  to  accomplish  the  end  you  desire.  And  now 
not  only  will  this  more  conform  to  the  great  principles  which  we  desire  to 
promote  throughout  this  country,  but  we  have  around  us  sister  churches 
in  this  land  who  have  been  making  great  advances  beyond  us  in  regard  to 
this  most  important  matter. 

Hitherto,  our  Boards  and  Committees  have  all  acted  separately,  without 
reference  to  each  other.  There  is  no  combination,  and  yet  you  will  per 
ceive  that  it  would  be  a  very  serious  thing  for  this  Church  to  saddle  itself 
with  all  those  expenses  of  the  machinery,  that  seems  to  a  great  many  of  us 
to  need  a  great  deal  of  harmonizing  in  its  different  parts,  to  make  it  effec 
tive  in  this  great  work  ;  and  therefore  we  propose  that  you  shall  appoint- 
a  committee,  and  bring  all  of  these  reports  together  in  harmony,  with  no 
jarring,  and  make  each  one  contribute  to  the  efficiency  of  the  other.  This 
we  feel  to  be  of  the  greatest  possible  importance  in  this  great  work,  as 
these  Boards  are  now  proposed  to  be  constituted.  According  to  the  pres 
ent  arrangement,  no  Board  represents  this  Presbyterian  Church.  It  does 
not  have  reference  to  all  its  parts,  but  it  is  simply  constituted  of  those  be 
longing  to  a  particular  locality  who  will  be  regarded  as  a  clique  having  no 
particular  knowledge  of  the  various  parts  of  the  Church,  standing  afar 
off,  and  having  no  knowledge  of  those  churches  that  are  distant, 
and  no  means  of  developing  their  liberality,  and  making  them  efficient  in 
this  great  work.  "We  want  to  harmonize  all  these  things.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  some  of  the  Boards  be  united  together ;  others  have  sug 
gested  to  combine  all  in  one  treasury,  and  there  are  a  great  many  plans 
and  schemes  upon  this  subject  that  seem  to  call  for  the  special  attention  of 
the  Church. 

These  remarks  had  prepared  the  minds  of  the  mem 
bers  of  Assembly  to  seek  a  more  compact  combination 
of  the  present  plans  for  benevolence,  and  a  resolution 
from  the  Committee  on  the  Finances  of  the  Church 
subsequently  furnished  the  occasion  for  securing  it. 
This  is  the  resolution  referred  to : 


446  PKESBYTEKIAlSr   KEUNION. 

Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  General  Assembly,  at  their 
next  meeting,  to  appoint  a  Treasury  Board,  consisting  of  twenty,  composed 
largely  of  business  men  of  standing  and  character,  to  be  divided  into  four 
classes  of  one,  two,  three,  and  four  years,  and  the  Assembly  to  elect  annu 
ally  five  — -tli3  Board  to  have  charge  of  all  the  funds  annually  contributed 
for  the  benevolent  operations  of  the  Church,  and  to  meet  the  drafts  of  each 
of  the  Boards  for  the  amounts  annually  appropriated  by  the  Assembly,  or 
designated  by  the  donors,  so  far  as  they  have  received  the  money,  and  to 
report  annually  to  the  Assembly. 

During:  the  consideration  of  the  above,  the  Rev.  Dr. 

O  ' 

C.  C.  Beatty  offered  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  so  much  of  the  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Finance  as  relates  to  the  permanent  financial  operations  of  the  Church  be 
referred  to  a  select  committee  of  twenty-one,  which  shall  consider  and  re 
commend  to  the  next  Assembly  a  mode  of  carrying  out  the  suggestions  of 
the  Joint  Committee  on  this  first  branch  of  their  report ;  and  that,  with  a 
view  to  the  uniform  arrangement  and  administration  of  our  entire  ' '  benev 
olent  work,"  this  same  committee  of  twenty-one  shall,  if  possible,  recom 
mend  a  plan  for  simplifying  and  consolidating  our  various  operations,  and 
for  enlisting  the  vigorous  and  effective  sympathy  and  co-operation  of  all 
our  Presbyteries  and  all  our  congregations  with  the  Boards  of  the  Church 
as  they  may  be  organized. 

To  this  Committee  of  twenty-one,  the  Moderator, 
the  Rev.  J.  Trumbull  Backus,  D.D.,  was,  by  a  special 
and  unanimous  vote,  added,  and  made  its  Chairman  and 
Convener.  As  the  Church  expands,  and  its  benevolent 
work  grows  commensurately,  our  most  judicious  minds 
may  well  be  occupied  in  welding  together  more  and  more 
closely  its  active  agencies,  that  they  may  not  only  be  as 
simple  as  possible  in  their  constitution,  but  by  direct 
communication  with  pastors  and  churches  call  out  the 
interest  and  sympathies  of  the  entire  body. 

Several  important  matters  were  discussed  and  passed 


• 


446  i'fc.«>i-.yiji-i;jAN  ILEUNIOS. 

o  thr.  Genera:  .\sscnii. 

••w  UKIV  o*  "id  character,  to  be  divuW  ii. 

of  one,  two,  thrfc^  *ud  four  years,  and  the  Assembly  to  <  *.j.rt 
*l'y  fiv,}  v-  tin  H.>*r-3  vo  hav:.  cnacga  of  all  tho  fuinL  anaually  coi 
f^he  ben.-vol«nt  oueruttona  of  the  Clmrch,  and  to  iWt  the  drafts. 
of  the  Board*  tor  the  amounts  annually  appropriated  by  tho  Assem'o 
desif,TWited  by  tho  don<;re,  *"•  far  aa  they  have  received  tlie  money,  und 
report  annually  to  the 


Daring  the  consideration  of  tlie  abovr,  the  Kev. 
C.  C.  Beatty  offered  the  following  resc^utiou,  v.-hioh  A\  ;t 
adopted : 

Resolved,    That   so  much    of   the  Report  of  the  Joint   Committee 
Finance  as  relates  to  the  permanent  financial  operations  of  tin-  Church 
r*-forrod  to  a  select  committee  of  twenty-one,  which  shall  consider  and  r< 
'    -i,  n*<is»\  tf>  thft  wxt  A.v-oruhly  a  mode  o(    carrying  out  tho  >- 


vJ    O         \  **      ^ 

the  Rev.  J.   Trumbull  liu--  >.,  was,  i>y  a  special 

and  unanimous  vote,  added,  ar ;  ?-:j*.ic  it^  hairman  a?)' 
Convener.  As  the  Church  eKf*  k  an«i  -  benevolo: 
work  grows  commensurat-  ]  ]  t  •  i  ••  t  ic  ions  in  i  u « J 

iiJAV  well  be  occupied  in  wel*  >re  and  mor; 

di.Kj'V  its  active  agencies,  th  >  •«-?}:  TIM;,  nut  only  be  a 
ginn  U  as  possible  in  their  -Cutler,  but  by  dire- 
com-:-5iiuication  with  pastor  »  !ui"«--iie,s  call  out  ":  • 

inter*:. :  and  sympathies  of  •       •  f>rir>  Kody. 

S«--ver,H!  important  mattt^    «trc  discussed  and  pa* 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION.  449 

Southern  Presbyterian  Church"  —  your  Committee  recommend  the  follow 
ing  answer  to  be  returned : 

Whatever  obstructions  may  exist  in  the  way  of  cordial  intercourse  be 
tween  the  two  bodies  above  named,  are  entirely  of  a  public  nature,  and 
involve  grave  and  fundamental  principles.  The  Southern  Presbyterian 
Church  can  confidently  appeal  to  all  the  acts  and  declarations  of  all  their 
Assemblies,  that  no  attitude  of  aggression  or  hostility  has  been  or  is  now 
assumed  by  it  towards  the  Northern  Church.  And  this  General  Assembly 
distinctly  avows  (as  it  has  always  believed  and  declared)  that  no  grievan 
ces  experienced  by  us,  however  real,  would  justify  us  in  acts  of  aggression 
or  a  spirit  of  malice  or  retaliation  against  any  branch  of  Christ's  visible 
kingdom.  We  are  prepared,  therefore,  in  advance  of  all  discussion,  to  ex 
ercise  towards  the  General  Assembly,  North,  and  the  churches  represented 
therein,  such  amity  as  fidelity  to  our  principles  could  under  any  possible 
circumstances  permit.  Under  this  view  the  appointment  of  a  Committee 
of  Conference  might  seem  wholly  unnecessary ;  but,  in  order  to  exhibit 
before  the  Christian  world  the  spirit  of  conciliation  and  kindness  to  the 
last  degree,  this  Assembly  agrees  to  appoint  a  Committee  of  Conference 
to  meet  a  similar  Committee  already  appointed  by  the  Northern  Assembly, 
with  instructions  to  the  same  that  the  difficulties  which  lie  in  the  way  of 
cordial  correspondence  between  the  two  bodies  must  be  distinctly  met  and 
removed,  and  which  may  be  comprehensively  stated  in  the  following  par 
ticulars  : 

1.  Both  the  wings  of  the  now  United  Assembly,  during  their  separate 
existence  before  the  fusion,  did  fatally  complicate  themselves  with  the 
State,  in  political   utterances   deliberately   uttered  year  after  year;    and 
which,  in  our  judgment,  were  a  sad  betrayal  of  the  cause  and  kingdom  of 
our  common  Lord  and  Head.     We  believe  it  to  be  solely  incumbent  upon 
the  Northern  Presbyterian  Church,  not  with  reference  to  us,  but  before  the 
Christian  world,  and  before  our  Divine  Master  and  King,  to  purge  itself  of 
this  error,  and  by  public  proclamation  of  the  truth  to  place  the  crown  once 
more  upon  the  head  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  alone  King  of  Zion.     In  de 
fault  of  which,  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  which  has  already  suf 
fered  much  in  maintaining  the  independence  and  spirituality  of  the  Re 
deemer's  kingdom  upon  earth,  feels  constrained  to  bear  public  testimony 
against  this  defection  of  our  late  associates  from  the  truth.     Nor  can  we, 
by  official  correspondence  even,  consent  to  blunt  the  edge  of  this,  our  tes 
timony  concerning  the  very  nature  and  mission  of  the  Church  as  a  purely 
spiritual  body  among  men. 

2.  The  union  now  consummated  between  the  Old  and  New  School  As 
semblies,  North,  was  accomplished  by  methods  which,  in  our  judgment, 

29 


450  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

involve  a  total  surrender  of  all  the  great  testimonies  of  the  Church  for  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  grace  at  a  time  when  the  victory  of  truth  over 
error  hung  long  in  the  balance.  The  United  Assembly  stands  of  necessity 
upon  an  allowed  latitude  of  interpretation  of  the  standards,  and  must 
come  at  length  to  embrace  nearly  all  shades  of  doctrinal  belief.  Of  those 
falling  testimonies  we  are  the  sole  surviving  heirs,  which  we  must  lift 
from  the  dust,  and  bear  to  the  generations  after  us.  It  would  be  a  serious 
compromise  of  this  sacred  trust  to  enter  into  public  and  official  fellowship 
with  those  repudiating  these  testimonies ;  and  to  do  this  expressly  upon 
the  ground,  as  stated  in  the  preamble  to  the  overture  before  us,  ' '  that  the 
terms  of  reunion  between  the  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at 
the  North,  now  happily  consummated,  present  an  auspicious  opportunity 
for  the  adjustment  of  such  relations"  — to  found  a  correspondence  pro 
fessedly  upon  this  idea  would  be  to  endorse  that  which  we  thoroughly 
disapprove. 

3.  Some  of  the  members  of  our  own  body  were,  but  a  short  time  since, 
violently  and  unconstitutionally   expelled  from  the   communion  of  one 
branch  of  the  now  United  Northern  Assembly,  under  ecclesiastical  charges 
which,  if  true,  render  them  utterly  infamous  before  the  Church  and  the 
world.     It  is  to  the  last  degree  unsatisfactory  to  construe  this  offensive 
legislation  obsolete  by  the  mere  fusion  of  that  body  with  another,  or  through 
the  operation  of  a  faint  declaration  which  was  not  intended,  originally,  to 
cover  this  case.     This  is  no  mere  "rule"  or  "precedent,"  but  a  solemn 
sentence  of  outlawry  against  what  is  now  an  important  and  constituent 
part  of  our  own  body.     Every  principle  of  honor  and  of  good  faith  com 
pels  us  to  say  that  an  unequivocal  repudiation  of  that  interpretation  of  the 
law  under  which  these  men  were  condemned,  must  be  a  condition  prece 
dent  to  any  official  correspondence  on  our  part. 

4.  It  is  well  known  that  similar  injurious  accusations  were  preferred 
against  the  whole  Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  with  which  the  ear  of 
the  whole  world  has  been  filled.     Extending,  as  these  charges  do,  to  heresy 
and  blasphemy,  they  cannot  be  quietly  ignored  by  an  indirection  of  any 
sort.     If  true,  we  are  not  worthy  of  the  "  confidence,  respect,  Christian 
honor  and  love "  which  are  tendered  to  us  in  this  overture ;    if  untrue, 
Christian  manliness  and  truth  require  them  to  be  openly  and  squarely 
withdrawn.     So  long  as  they  remain  upon  record  they  are  an  impassable 
barrier  to  official  intercourse. 

Yours  fraternally, 

JOSEPH  R.  WILSON, 

Stated  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States. 


THE    EECONSTEUCTION.  451 

To  this  letter  a  reply  was  adopted  by  the  Assembly 
in  terms  as  follows : 

Whereas,  This  General  Assembly,  at  an  early  period  of  its  sessions,  de 
clared  its  desire  to  establish  cordial,  fraternal  relations  with  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.,  commonly  known  as 
the  Southern  Assembly,  upon  the  basis  of  Christian  honor,  confidence,  and 
love  ;  and  with  a  view  to  the  attainment  of  this  end,  appointed  a  commit 
tee  of  five  ministers  and  four  elders,  to  confer  with  a  similar  committee, 
if  it  should  be  appointed  by  the  Assembly  then  in  session  at  Louisville, 
"in  regard  to  the  amicable  settlement  of  all  existing  difficulties,  and  the 
opening  of  a  friendly  correspondence  between  the  Northern  and  Southern 
churches,"  and  for  the  furtherance  of  the  objects  contemplated  in  the  ap 
pointment  of  said  committee,  and  with  a  view  to  remove  the  obstacles 
which  might  prevent  the  acceptance  of  our  proposals  by  our  Southern 
brethren,  reaffirmed  the  concurrent  declaration  of  the  two  Assemblies 
which  met  in  New  York  last  year,  to  the  effect  that  "  no  rule  or  precedent 
which  does  not  stand  approved  by  both  the  bodies  shall  be  of  any  author 
ity  in  the  re-united  body,  except  so  far  as  such  rule  or  precedent  may  af 
fect  the  rights  of  property  founded  thereon  ;  "  and  as  a  further  pledge  of 
our  sincerity  in  this  movement,  sent  a  copy  of  our  resolutions,  together  with 
our  Christian  salutation,  to  the  Assembly  at  Louisville,  by  the  hands  of 
delegates  chosen  for  that  purpose, 

And  icttercas,  the  Southern  Assembly,  while  receiving  our  delegates  with 
marked  courtesy,  and  formally  complying  with  our  proposition  for  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  of  conference,  has  nevertheless  accompanied 
that  appointment  with  declarations  and  conditions  which  we  cannot  con 
sistently  accept,  because  they  involve  a  virtual  pre-judginent  of  the  very 
difficulties  concerning  which  we  invited  the  conference.  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  further  consideration  of  the  subject  be  postponed 
and  the  committee  be  discharged.  At  the  same  time  we  cannot  forbear 
to  express  our  profound  regret,  that  a  measure  designed  and,  as  we  believe, 
eminently  fitted  to  promote  the  establishment  of  peace  and  the  advance 
ment  of  our  Redeemer's  kingdom  in  every  part  of  our  country,  has  appar 
ently  failed  to  accomplish  its  object.  We  earnestly  hope  that  the  nego 
tiations  thus  suspended  may  soon  lie  resumed  under  happier  auspices,  and 
hereby  declare  our  readiness  to  renew  our  proposal  for  a  friendly  corre 
spondence  whenever  our  Southern  brethren  shall  signify  their  readiness  to 
accept  it  in  the  form  and  spirit  in  which  it  has  been  offered. 


452  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

On  motion  of  th%  Rev.  George  L.  Prentiss,  D.D.,  a 
committee  of  five  was  appointed  to  consider  the  perils 
which  beset  the  system  of  popular  education  in  this 
country,  and  to  prepare  a  minute  expressing  upon  the 
question  the  sentiment  of  the  General  Assembly.  Sub 
sequently,  as  the  chairman  of  this  committee,  Dr.  Pren- 
tiss  offered  a  very  satisfactory  report,  which  was  unani 
mously  adopted.  This  report  contained  the  resolutions 
following : 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  regards  the  free  public  school  as 
an  essential  part  of  our  republican  system,  as  conducive  in  the  highest  de 
gree  to  the  moral  unity,  common  spirit,  and  kindly  sympathies  of  American 
citizenship,  and  as  closely  connected  with  all  the  best  interests  of  Christian 
society  in  the  United  States. 

2.  Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  the  General  Assembly  the  divorce 
of  popular  education  from  all  religious  elements,  while  involving  a  radi 
cal  departure  from  the  spirit  and  principles  in  which  our  public  school  sys 
tem  had  its  origin,  would  be  eminently  unwise,  unjust,  and  a  moral  ca 
lamity  to  the  nation. 

3.  Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  is  also  entirely  opposed  to  the 
appropriation  of  any  portion  of  the  public  school  funds  for  the  support  of 
sectarian  institutions,  and  would  regard  the  establishment  of  such  a  policy 
as  fraught  with  the  greatest  mischief ,  not  only  to  the  cause  of  popular  edu 
cation,  but  hardly  less  to  the  interests  of  American  freedom,  unity,  and 
progress. 

4.  Resolved,  That  whereas  the  Bible  is  not  only  the  Magna  Charta  of 
the  spiritual  rights  and  liberties  of  mankind,  but  is  also  pre-eminently  our 
National  Book,  the  best  model  of  our  mother-tongue,  and  the  fountain  of 
our  highest  thought  and  of  our  ruling  ideas,  both  in  private  and  public 
life,  the  General  Assembly  would  regard  its  expulsion  from  the  schools 
of   the  people  as  a  deplorable    and  suicidal  act;    nor   can   it  perceive 
that  any  real  advantage  could  thereby  be  gained  to  the  cause  of  popular 
education. 

5.  Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly,  conscious  of  being  actuated 
hi  this  matter  by  no  other  motive  than  the  greatest  good  of  the  whole 
country,   hereby  professes  its  readiness  to  co-operate  with  all  Christian 
people,  of  whatever  name,  and  with  all  good  citizens,  in  so  modifying 
and  perfecting  our  noble  public  school  system,  as  to  obviate  as  far  as 


THE    BECONSTRUCTION.  453 

practicable  the  conscientious  scruples  and  difficulties  of  any  of  its  friends, 
and  thus  to  render  it  a  fountain  of  still  greater  light  and  benediction  to 
us  and  our  children  after  us  to  the  latest  generation. 

It  was  to  be  expected  that,  with  the  zeal  and  enthu 
siasm  that  filled  this  Assembly,  it  would  endeavor 
actively  to  carry  out  the  plans  inaugurated  by  its  pre 
decessors  for  raising  a  Memorial  Fund  of  Five  Millions 
of  Dollars,  as  a  special  thank-offering  to  the  treasury  of 
the  Lord.  After  sufficient  deliberation,  the  following 
gentlemen  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  raise  the 
amount : 

W.  S.  GILMAN,  of  New  York,  Chairman. 
JOHN  CROSBY  BROWN,  of  New  Tork. 
JOHN  E.  PARSONS,  of  New  York. 
BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER,  of  New  York. 
WILLIAM  T.  BOOTH,  of  New  York. 
ALEXANDER  WHILLDIN,  of  Philadelphia. 
GEORGE  JUNKIN,  of  Philadelphia 
ISAAC  SCARRITT,  of  Alton,  Illinois. 
ARCHIBALD  MCCLURE,  JR.,  of  Albany,  N.  Y. 

This  Committee  was  instructed  to  prepare  and  for 
ward  to  each  congregation,  through  the  pastor,  stated 
supply,  or  session,  to  be  laid  before  each  member  of  the 
congregation,  a  clear,  distinct,  and  minute  plan  for  sub 
scribing,  reporting,  collecting,  and  forwarding  the 
amounts  contributed  to  this  fund,  and  also  to  prepare 
and  send  suitable  blanks  for  these  purposes. 

The  Assembly  also  instructed  the  Presbyteries  and 
Synods,  at  their  Fall  meetings,  to  make  careful  inquiry 
of  each  pastor  and  elder,  and  know  if  these  subscriptions 
have  been  presented  to  the  individuals  of  all  our  congre 
gations,  and  in  cases  of  failure,  to  take  such  measures 
as  may  best  secure  this  result. 


454  PKESBYTEEIAN   EETTNION". 

Institutions  were  also  designated  by  the  Assembly, 
to  which,  if  contributions  are  given,  these  may  be 
counted  as  included  in  the  Memorial  Fund,  namely : 

I.  Theological  seminaries,  and  colleges,  and  seminaries  for  the  edu 
cation  of  our  daughters,  including  buildings  and  endowments   of  the 
same,  it  being  understood  that  such  institutions  shall  be  chartered,  and 
shall  be  in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

II.  Literary  institutions  for  the  raising  of  a  native  Gospel  ministry  in 
heathen  lands. 

m.  Church  buildings  and  manses  originating  subsequently  to  the  union, 
and  otherwise  entitled  to  public  aid ;  hospitals  and  orphan  asylums  in 
connection  with  the  Church. 

IV.  Institutions  for  the  education  and  evangelization  of  the  Freedmcn. 

V.  Special  contributions  for  the  establishment  of  a  Permanent  Sustcn- 
tation  Fund,  which  shall  include  appropriations  for  the  support  of  disabled 
ministers  and  their  families. 

A  committee,  appointed  by  the  last  Old  School  As 
sembly,  to  consider  upon  the  allowance  of  the  Heidel 
berg  Catechism  in  the  churches,  presented  a  report 
which  was  unanimously  adopted.  The  resolutions  at 
its  close,  thus  made  the  action  of  the  Assembly  of  1870, 
are  the  f  olio  wing : 

1.  Resolved,  That  this  General  Assembly  recognizes  in  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  a  valuable  Scriptural  compendium  of  Christian  doctrine  and 
duty. 

2.  Resolved,  That  if  any  churches  desire  to  employ  the  Heidelberg  Cat 
echism  in  the  instruction  of  their  children,  they  may  do  so  with  the  appro 
bation  of  this  Assembly. 

3.  Resolved,  That  this  Assembly  cordially  rejoices  at  the  continued  and 
increasing  evidences  of  agreement  and  of  union  among  those  whose  sym 
bols  maintain  in  common  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  remarkable  kindness 
and  generosity  with  which  the  members  of  the  various 
congregations  of  Philadelphia  entertained  the  Assembly. 
Besides  numerous  private  receptions,  and  a  constant  ex- 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION.  455 

hibition  of  hospitality  on  the  part  of  the  families  of 
both  ministers  and  laymen,  the  SOCIAL  REUNION  of 
Thursday  evening,  May  2Gth,  deserves  a  grateful  com 
memoration.  That  all  the  members  of  the  Assembly, 
with  their  kind  hosts,  and  very  many  distinguished  men 
in  attendance  upon  the  sessions  of  the  body  might 
meet  together  most  pleasantly,  the  Academy  of  Music 
was  selected,  as  affording  very  great  facilities  for  such 
a  gathering.  This  spacious  building  was  beautifully 
decorated  with  flowers,  while  a  multitude  of  singing 
birds  were  so  arranged  as  to  fill  the  air  with  their 
cheering  melody.  A  motto  of  welcome  was  placed  in 
a  conspicuous  position :  "  THE  CHURCH  WHICH  is  IN 
PHILADELPHIA  SALUTETII  You."  A  large  committee  of  la 
dies  and  gentlemen  had  made  such  ample  provision  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  great  company  that  were  assem 
bled  at  this  most  agreeable  reunion,  that  none  were  in 
commoded,  and  all  enjoyed  it  to  the  full.  In  one  por 
tion  of  the  building,  short  addresses  from  eloquent  men, 
some  of  them  from  other  lands,  attracted  an  applauding 
concourse.  In  other  parts,  groups  were  collected  for 
conversation  and  the  interchange  of  joyful  congratula 
tions  over  the  happy  progress  of  the  Church's  peaceful 
work.  And  in  a  spacious  hall,  with  convenient  ingress 
and  egress,  others  were  enjoying  a  repast  comprising 
in  bountiful  profusion  the  choicest  viands,  sufficing  for 
all  the  great  company  thus  collected.  On  a  subsequent 
evening  the  Oratorio  of  the  Messiah  was  rendered  in 
the  same  building,  at  the  expense  of  the  citizens  of 
Philadelphia,  in  honor  of  the  Assembly.  These  brief 
references  but  imperfectly  describe  most  successful  public 
exhibitions  of  the  deep  and  cordial  interest  which  evi- 


456  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

dently  existed  in  all  the  churches  and  congregations  of 
Philadelphia  with  regard  to  this  General  Assembly,  per 
mitted,  in  God's  Providence,  to  consummate  the  work 
of  Reunion,  and  to  provide  for  the  future  progress  of 
Christ's  kingdom. 

In  rapidly  reviewing  the  process  of  Reconstruction, 
as  aided  by  the  members  of  the  Assembly  of  1870,  we 
cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  promptness  of 
their  action,  as  well  as  with  its  satisfactory  results. 
Every  duplicate  Board  or  Permanent  Committee  was 
combined  upon  principles  somewhat  similar,  it  is  true, 
but  yet  by  methods  greatly  varying  with  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  each  case.  Here  one  is  called  by  the 
name  of  the  organization  as  known  to  the  Old  School ; 
here  another  receives  the  title  formerly  employed  by 
the  New  School.  One  results  from  the  fusing  together 
of  both  the  former  agencies ;  in  the  case  of  others,  a 
choice  is  made  of  that  which,  by  reason  of  its  better 
charter  or  more  perfect  plan,  promises  to  do  the  most 
good.  And,  as  in  the  Assembly  itse]f  these  results 
were  reached  with  no  excited  discussion  or  unfriendly 
ardor,  but  in  the  exercise  of  Christian  courtesy  and 
with  an  evident  desire  to  seek  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  welfare  of  souls,  so  have  the  tidings  of  what  was 
effected  been  received  through  the  churches.  On  every 
hand  we  hear  expressions  of  gratification  and  thankful 
ness  with  reference  to  the  work  so  far  completed  with 
out  any  rivalries  or  jealousies  or  complaints. 

The  history  of  ecclesiastical  bodies  may  well  be 
challenged  to  present  any  parallel  to  the  wonderful 
readiness  with  which  the  entire  Church  now  adapts 
itself  to  the  new  ordering  of  all  its  plans  as  thus 


THE    EECONSTEUCTION.  457 

arranged.  Private  opinions  and  interests  have  been 
subordinated  to  the  common  judgment  and  the  general 
welfare.  Under  the  evident  superintendence  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit  and  the  plain  direction  of  God's  Provi 
dence,  radical  changes  have  taken  place-  But  these, 
subjected  to  the  tests  of  combined  wisdom  and  experi 
ence,  as  gained  by  both  the  former  branches  of  the 
Church,  are  cordially  accepted  by  all.  There  appear 
to  be  no  parties,  no  dissatisfied  minorities,  no  unwilling 
protesters.  With  happy  hearts  and  devout  thanksgiv 
ings,  Judah  and  Ephraim  and  Levi  and  Benjamin  and 
all  the  other  tribes  merge  their  distinctive  names  and 
their  separate  plans  in  their  sincere  affection  for  the 
united  Israel  into  which,  as  one,  they  flow  together. 

And  now  some  may  ask,  What  further  is  needed  to 
finish  the  work  of  Reconstruction  so  happily  begun  ? 
In  one  sense,  but  little  more,  since  the  foundations  are 
carefully  selected,  well  laid,  and  strongly  cemented. 
In  another  sense,  much  more,  since  upon  these  noble 
foundations  there  must  be  erected  a  structure  vast  and 
enduring. 

In  indicating  briefly  the  following  portions  of  the  yet 
uncompleted  task,  they  are  referred  to  because  now 
occupying  the  attention  of  our  thinking  and  progressive 
minds  in  various  parts  of  the  Church.  Some  of  them 
are  veiy  generally  deemed  desirable,  others  require  yet 
to  be  more  thoroughly  elaborated  and  matured.  If 
adopted  by  the  Church,  time  and  use  must  prove  their 
value  or  reveal  their  defects.  Few,  however,  will  deny 
that  the  present  is  an  auspicious  period  in  which  to 
increase  the  efiiciency  of  our  system  and  to  adapt  its 
methods  more  perfectly  to  the  demands  of  our  country 


458  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

and  the  world.  It  furnishes  an  occasion  such  as  sel 
dom  can  occur  in  the  history  of  any  communion,  to 
make  needed  changes  and  to  secure  esirable  reforms. 
It  is  a  grand  opportunity,  a  transition  epoch,  when  the 
wisdom  and  experience  of  the  past  may  guide  us  so 
that,  holding  fast  to  all  that  is  really  valuable  in  our 
traditional  methods,  we  may  also  incorporate  upon  our 
system  whatever  the  sound  judgment  and  the  ripe 
reflection  of  our  most  judicious  leaders  endorse  and 
approve  of  as  requisite  for  the  enlarged  and  increasing 
usefulness  of  the  Church. 

Our  Presbyterian  Homes  in  the  great  cities  east  and 
west  are  yet  to  be  built.  A  Psalmody  adequate  to  the 
wants  of  this  wide-spread  Zion  is  to  be  selected  and 
prepared.  A  Manse  is  not  yet  found  in  every  congre 
gation.  Some  Sustentation  plan  remains  to  be  sug 
gested,  that  the  Church,  from  the  overflow  of  congrega 
tions  whose  concentrated  wealth  suffers  a  very  trifling 
draft  when  from  it  but  one  ministry  is  sustained,  may 
pour  forth  to  the  aid  of  feebler  folds  enough  to  save 
them  from  the  sorrow  or  reproach  of  awarding  to  faith 
ful  pastors  a  scandalous  maintenance.  Some  method 
must  be  devised  by  which  the  humbler  and  middling 
classes  in  cities  and  towns  shall  be  more  generally 
attracted  to  God's  altars,  that  rich  and  poor  may  there 
meet  together.  A  multitude  of  churches  and  mission 
chapels  need  to  be  built  in  our  crowded  centres  of  pop 
ulation,  and  at  frontier  points  that  will  soon  become 
such  centres.  The  relations  of  the  Church  to  popular 
education,  and  its  responsibilities  in  training  all  chil 
dren  and  youth  are  to  be  more  clearly  defined.  Our 
Christian  women,  the  deaconesses  of  primitive  times, 


THE    IlECONSTEUCTION.  459 

and  in  every  age  numerically,  and  by  reason  of  their 
great  capabilities  for  extensive  usefulness,  an  invaluable 
band  of  helpers,  await  the  disposal  of  the  Church,  say 
ing,  "  Here  we  are ;  send  us."  A  host  of  unordained 
servants  of  Christ,  laymen,  it  is  true,  yet  gifted  and 
educated,  are  ready  to  go  everywhere  preaching  the 
Word  in  the  shop,  at  the  market,  on  the  railway,  from 
house  to  house,  through  the  secular  week,  and  on  the 
Sabbath  day  in  halls,  parks,  or  streets,  desiring  to  be 
told  how  they  may  perform  this  function  decently  and 
in  order.  Chairs  for  the  instruction  of  missionaries  in 
foreign  and  especially  Eastern  languages  are  yet  to  be 
endowed,  that  every  man  may  speedily  hear  in  his  own 
tongue  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  and  another  stu 
pendous  Pentecost  of  conversions  follow.  Such  prepar 
atory  steps  are  awaited  as  may  draw  other  kindred 
churches  to  ours,  or  ours  to  them,  as  far  as  God  intends 
organic  union  or  fraternal  correspondence  between 
these,  His  witnesses.  Some  old  measures  must  be  re 
vived,  or  new  plans  secured  that  may  bring  with  increas 
ing  numbers  the  baptized  members  of  the  Saviour's  fold 
to  assume  every  duty  of  a  religious  life,  until  all  the 
Church's  children  be  taught  of  God,  and  great  be  the 
peace  of  her  children.  The  session  must  be  restored  to 
its  ancient  efficiency,  and  its  elders  become  more 
thoroughly  the  helps  they  were  ordained  to  be,  with  a 
Scriptural  and  settled  plan  by  which  the  efficient  may 
be  retained,  and,  ruling  well,  have  double  honor;  while 
the  inefficient,  and  such  as  experience  declares  cannot 
serve  to  edification,  may  retire  from  the  active  exercise 
of  the  office.  Unemployed  ministers  must,  by  some 
well-ordered  and  perpetuated  means,  be  set  at  work, 


460  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNION. 

and  vacancies  be  constantly  supplied.  The  arrange 
ments  for  a  Memorial  Fund  and  kindred  schemes  must 
develop  a  system  by  which  every  son  and  daughter  of 
the  Lord's  house  shall  habitually,  upon  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  lay  by  in  store  an  offering  as  God  hath  pros 
pered  them.  A  return  to  what  is  regarded  by  them  as 
the  New  Testament  use  of  the  diaconate  is  by  some  de 
manded,  who  desire  that  the  deacons  may  be  more 
numerous  and  more  fully  employed,  and  that  those  who 
are  of  Israel  may  direct  the  Church's  temporalities, 
according  to  the  dictates  of  consciences  instructed  by 
the  Holy  Oracles  and  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

But  we  may  not  longer  dwell  upon  these  things, 
which  are  suggested  in  various  quarters,  and  which 
many  hope  for  as  yet  to  result  from  the  full  Recon 
struction  of  our  beloved  Church.  To  her  future  his 
tory  and  destiny  the  eye  of  faith  may  well  look  for 
ward  with  glad  and  prayerful  anticipations.  How 
auspicious  the  beginnings  of  her  prosperity !  How 
solemn  the  responsibilities  of  those  who  now  in  God's 
Providence  have  committed  to  them  this  precious  ark 
to  bear  forward !  Truly  there  is  much  land  to  be  pos 
sessed.  Most  of  all  gifts,  do  we  not  need  individual 
piety,  personal  holiness,  the  entire  consecration  each  of 
his  one  soul  to  Christ  ?  Let  but  every  heart  be  filled 
with  love  to  Jesus,  every  closet  be  witness  to  new  and 
more  solemn  devotion,  each  family  altar  blaze  with 
a  more  constant  and  holy  sacrifice,  each  pulpit  and  pew 
be  filled  by  those  who  are  absolutely  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls,  and 
His  voice  will  send  to  us  its  sweet,  assuring  prom 
ise,  "  MY  PRESENCE  SHALL  GO  WITH  THEE,  AND  I  WILL 


GIVE   THEE   BEST." 


BRICK     I'HUUCH.     NEW    YORK 


CHAPTER      EIGHTH. 

THE    FUTURE    CHURCH. 


BY     THE    REV.    JOHN    HALL,    D.D. 


Objects  of  the  Reunion.  —  The  Church  must  hold  fast  what  it  has  already 
gained.  —  Influence  of  American  Cities.  — What  Church  will  control  the 
Religious  Character  of  the  Country.  —  Law  of  Growth  for  Churches.  — 
Need  of  Amalgamation.  —  Congregations  misplaced.  —  A  Distinct  Terri 
tory  for  Each.  —  The  best  Missionary  Organization.  —  Problems  of  City 
Missions.  —  Church  Extension.  —  Disadvantages  of  a  Casual  Plan.  —  Each 
Church  responsible  for  Evangelizing  the  Region  around  it.  —  Denomina 
tional  Co-operation.  —  Function  of  the  Elders.  —  Theory  and  Fact.  — 
Stated  Supplies.  — "My  People — "Our  Pastor."  —  Ministerial  Support. 

—  Scotch  Sustentation  Fund.  —  The  Deacons.  —  The  Church  must  teach 
the  truth. —  "  Gospellers."  —  Teach  the  Children. —  Sunday-school  Teach 
ers  and  Literature. —  Parental  Responsibility. —  The  Shorter  Catechism. — 
Presbyterianism  in  Great  Britain. — Public  Services  of  the  Future  Church. 

—  Sermons  read  and  spoken.  —  Agencies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  — 
Doctrines.  —  The  great  Object  of  Prayer  and  Labor. 

'WHEN  the  English  and  the  Prussians,  under  "Welling- 

O  /  o 

ton  and  Blucher,  effected  a  junction  on  the  18th  of  June, 
1815,  on  the  field  of  Waterloo,  it  was  not  that  they 
might  enjoy  the  parade  and  pomp  of  a  mighty  host,  or 
luxuriate  in  the  gladness  which  led  the  old  Prussian,  after 
the  manner  of  his  country,  to  embrace  and  hug  the  vic 
torious  Englishman ;  but  to  continue  the  work  in  which 
they  had  been  engaged  —  to  drive  a  military  despotism 
out  of  France,  and  to  restore  to  Europe  the  blessings  of 
an  assured  peace. 

And  when  two  great  sections  of  the  Lord's  sacramen 
tal  host  fell  into  one  line  in  Pittsburg,  it  was  not  for  the 
satisfaction  of  exulting  in  the  sense  of  greatness,  or  in 
dulging  in  mutual  gratulations,  but  for  the  purpose  of 

(461) 


462  PKESBYTEEIAN   REUNION. 

pushing  Christian  effort  with  more  vigor,  of  concen 
trating  strength,  and  bringing  the  land  under  the  Sav 
iour's  peaceful  sceptre.  The  sympathy  of  numbers  is  in 
deed  a  valuable  power,  and  the  joy  of  enlarging  commu 
nion  on  earth  a  precious  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  But  they 
are  not  to  be  rested  in  as  an  end,  but  employed  as  means. 
We  are  to  be  more  sanguine  because  we  are  one ;  for 
the  Spirit  that  has  put  aside  the  barriers  to  union,  and 
made  us  one,  may  well  be  counted  upon  to  carry  us 
over  other  difficulties.  If,  however,  flushed  with  a  sense 
of  strength  and  success,  we  rely  on  visible  resources,  and 
yield  ourselves  up  to  mere  carnal  exultation,  we  shall  be 
certainly  visited  with  God's  displeasure,  and  with  de 
served  humiliation.  But  if  we  feel  our  dependence  on 
Divine  aid,  give  God  glory  for  the  great  things  he  has 
done  for  us,  and  address  ourselves  in  a  right  spirit  to  the 
work  of  a  Church  of  Christ  in  this  land,  we  shall  see 
enough  in  ourselves,  and  in  the  desolation  around  us, 
to  emphasize  the  caution  to  the  angel  of  the  Church  at 
Sardis,  "Be  watchful,  and  strengthen  the  things  that 
remain,  that  are  ready  to  die." — Rev.  iii.  2. 

The  measure  of  the  strength  of  a  machine  is  the 
strength  of  its  weakest  part.  It  is  prudent  for  a  be 
sieged  city  to  look  to  its  defences  where  the  line  is  most 
easily  penetrable.  And  it  is  wise  for  a  church  to  make 
good  any  position  which  it  is  right  to  hold,  preparatory 
to  successful  aggressive  effort.  There  is  a  charm  about 
a  new  thing  to  many  minds.  It  is  all  too  common  to 
quit  the  old  spheres  and  relieve  the  monotony  of  labor 
by  seeking  fresh  fields  of  exertion.  The  lines  may  thus 
be  widely  extended  without  any  absolute  gain.  To 
cultivate  a  country  is  not  to  rush  across  it,  here  burning 


THE    FUTURE    CHURCH.  463 

a  wood,  and  there  making  a  corduroy  road  over  a 
swamp.  When  men  steadily,  persistently,  and  on  a 
definite  plan,  sit  down  on  the  land,  root  out  its  trees, 
fence  it  in,  and  cultivate  it,  till  its  valleys  are  cov 
ered  with  corn  and  its  hills  with  cattle,  they  are  really 
ruling  over  and  subduing  it.  And  on  such  a  course, 
though  less  striking  to  the  imagination  than  the  move- 

O  o  O 

ment  that  sweeps  along  like  a  prairie-fire,  ought  the 
Presbyterian  Church  to  enter  if  she  is  to  win  in  years  to 
come  the  Master's  commendation,  "  I  know  thy  works, 
and  charity,  and  service,  and  faith,  and  thy  patience, 
and  thy  works;  and  the  last  to  be  more  than  the 
first."— Eev.  ii.  19. 

The  cities  of  America  are  permitted  to  exercise  an 
immense  influence.  The  agricultural  districts  of  every 
country  are  slower  in  movement  than  the  cities.  From 
great  cities  smaller  towns  take  their  cue ;  from  these, 
again,  the  villages ;  and  from  the  villages  the  purely 
rural  population.  What  an  immense  power  is  radiat 
ing  from  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  and 
many  other  centres  only  distinguished  from  these  by 
their  areas  of  influence  being  less  extended.  It  ought  to 
be  among  the  first  objects  of  the  united  Church  to 
strengthen  itself  in  the  great  cities.  Apostolic  practice, 
the  later  history  of  the  Church,  the  deductions  of  com 
mon  sense,  and  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  America, 
all  point  to  this.  If  we  be  strong  in  the  cities,  we  shall 
be  strong  in  the  land.  If  we  be  feeble  where  people 
most  do  congregate,  where  mind  is  most  active  and  vig 
orous,  where  thought  is  soonest  and  most  loudly  uttered, 
we  must  resign  into  other  and  abler  hands  the  work  of 
evangelizing  the  land.  The  Church  that  holds  the 


464  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

great  cities  will  control  tlie  religious  character  of  the 
country. 

In  some  of  these,  our  Church  is  already  strong,  rela 
tively.  In  some  she  is  almost  unknown.  And  in  some 
she  must  be  content  to  remain  unknown.  To  expect 
missionary  effort  to  be  made  from  without  for  setting 
up  Presbyterianism  in  New  England  towns,  for  exam 
ple,  is  in  -the  highest  degree  absurd.  There  are  certain 
laws  of  life  which  must  be  respected  in  the  growth  of 
churches,  as  in  the  growth  of  any  societies  composed  of 
human  beings,  and  which  you  cannot  control  by  any  forc 
ing  agency  with  advantage.  A  congregation  "  got  up  "  in 
a  place  by  external  zeal  is  usually  a  poor,  sickly,  hot 
house  plant,  drooping  under  every  unfavorable  change. 
"  Behold,  I  am  at  the  point  to  die,"  is  its  frequent  cry, 
"  and  what  profit  shall  this  birthright  do  to  me  ?  "  There 
is  no  wisdom  in  forwarding  these  artificial  "  erections." 
But  when  the  people  of  a  locality,  looking  around,  and 
seeing  how  well  a  system  works  elsewhere,  set  up 
among  themselves  an  organization,  and  maintain  it  as 
a  thing  of  their  own,  there  is  hope ;  for  there  is  natural 
and  healthy  growth.  The  plant  is  racy  of  the  soil.  It 
does  not  need  the  nursing  demanded  by  an  exotic.  It 
has  not  to  overcome  the  prejudice  with  which  an  intru 
sive  stranger  is  apt  to  be  regarded.  Its  existence  is  its 
justification.  Its  progress  is  an  argument  for  sympathy, 
and  its  success  is  a  plea  for  a  second  like  unto  it.  And 
so  the  work  of  healthy  and  useful  church  extension  ad 
vances. 

But  how  are  our  existing  possessions  to  acquire  that 
attractive  appearance  ? 

1.  In  many  places  there  is  need  for  wise  amalgama- 


THE    FUTURE    CHURCH.  465 

tion.  Of  what  use  can  it  be  to  maintain  two  feeble 
churches  in  a  district  which  has  seen  its  best  days,  when 
one  would  serve  all  the  objects  of  a  church  ?  Union 
would  set  one  man  free  for  ministerial  work  elsewhere, 
and  would  secure  employment  and  adequate  mainte 
nance  for  the  other.  That  there  is  a  second  building  is 
of  no  real  consequence.  Buildings  and  organizations 
are  for  men,  not  men  for  them.  There  is  no  indelibility 
about  the  sanctity  of  a  church  edifice ;  when  it  ceases 
to  be  what  it  was  intended,  its  work  is  done.  No  mer 
cantile  firm  that  could  move  would  remain  in  a  region 

O 

from  which  trade  had  disappeared  simply  because  they 
owned  a  house.  And  the  children  of  light  ought  to  be 
no  less  wise  than  the  children  of  this  world. 

2.  There  has  been  some  waste  of  power  in  many  of  our 
cities  and  towns  from  the  misplacing  of  congregations 
and  mission  stations.  Sometimes  this  arose  from  the 
ignorance  which  comes  from  want  of  concert  and  con 
sultation.  Sometimes,  one  fears,  there  was  too  much 
eagerness  to  push  denominational  interests  to  permit 
dispassionate  examination  of  collateral  questions.  It 
would  be  easy  enough  to  have  Presbyteries  survey  the 
cities  and  towns  within  their  bounds,  and  so  far  as  new 
churches  and  mission  stations  are  concerned,  distribute 
their  resources  to  the  utmost  advantage,  so  as  to  secure 
as  near  an  approach  as  possible  to  the  territorial  sys 
tem.  To  give  to  each  congregation  that  undertakes 
aggressive  work  a  definite  district  for  which,  in 
Christian  honor,  it  should  be  held  responsible,  would 
be  an  immense  gain.  There  is,  on  the  present  plan,  a 
great  discouragement  in  the  apparently  unmanageable 
character  of  the  undefined  regions  in  which  evangelistic 

30 


466  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

organizations  labor.     A  small,  defined,  and   appropri 
ated  "plot"  would  be  cultivated  with  a  sense  of  obli 
gation  and  a  hopefulness  of  spirit  not  attained  upon 
the  present  haphazard  method.     So  congregations  only 
able  to  maintain  themselves  should   have  assigned  to 
them  the  region  immediately  around  their  centre,  for 
the  careful  cultivation  of  which  they  should  be  consid 
ered  accountable.     Many  a  congregation  is  sinking  to 
dependence,  when,  by  the  faithful  and  joint  effort  of 
pastor  and  people,  its  pews  might  be  filled,  its  funds 
replenished,  and  its  life  invigorated  and  prolonged  by 
the  evangelization   of   its   surrounding   district.      The 
cheapest,  most  effective,  and  every  way  most  reliable 
missionary  organization  is  the  congregation,  which  sub 
sidizes   and   sanctifies   the  social   instincts,  and   forms 
Christian  character  in  and  through  the  Christian  fel 
lowship,  the  want  of  which  is  the  confessed  weakness 
of  ordinary  city  missions.     When  the  lapsed  or  careless 
family  has  been  brought  to  value  religious  privileges, 
and  to  desire  them,  the  difficulty  arises,  How  are  they 
to  be  given  ?     The  mission  is  a  reclaiming  agency.     It 
does   not   contemplate   the   cultivation,   but   only  the 
awakening,  of  religious  life.    Its  very  success  becomes  its 
embarrassment.     Its  subjects  are  skilfully  and  patiently 
conducted  upward. to  the  point  of  seeking  fellowship 
with  God's  people,  and  there  they  are  to  be  abruptly 
switched  off  to  a  congregation  of  which  they  know 
nothing,  to  be  scrutinized  and  —  through  what  elabo 
rate  forms  they  know  not  —  put  on  probation  for  the 
Church  privileges.     It  is  not  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
Christian  feeling  that   this  process  can   be   hopefully 
entered   upon.     Even  advanced   Christians  would  not 


THE   FUTURE   CHUECH.  467 

always  cheerfully  submit  to  it.  Men  like  to  be,  or  to 
think  themselves,  free.  The  people  whom  city  mis 
sionaries  approach  have  their  full  share  of  pride,  sensi 
tiveness,  and  independence.  They  do  not  like  to  be 
"  evangelized,"  labelled,  and  handed  over  like  a  parcel, 
to  a  body  of  Christians  which,  however  valuable  and 
excellent,  is  a  strange  body  to  them.*  But  a  congrega 
tion  is  able  to  offer  a  home  to  each  family  as  it  is 
brought  in ;  the  children  form  social  ties ;  the  parents 
learn  to  take  an  interest  where  they  are  of  some  conse 
quence;  and  as  the  devout  aspirations  grow  in  the 
minds  of  parents  or  children,  there  are  means  of  satisfy 
ing  them  simply,  naturally,  and  without  that  violence 
which  not  unfrequently  throws  back  an  inquirer  on  his 
old  and  careless  ways.  The  adjustment  of  this  matter, 
and  the  determination  of  the  means  by  which  mission 
work  can  be  made  to  pass  over  into  organizations,  like 
the  trees  of  the  field  "whose  seed  is  in  themselves 
after  their  kind,"  is  one  of  the  questions  awaiting  settle 
ment.  The  Presbyterian  Church  ought  to  be  able  to 
deal  with  it,  and  a  satisfactory  and  practical  plan 
would  be  eagerly  scanned  by  other  churches  with  a 
view  to  its  adoption,  f 

*  So  strongly  has  this  difficulty  been  realized  in  the  New  York  City  Mission, 
that  after  much  consideration,  and  in  the  face  of  some  difficulties  of  detail,  it 
has  been  decided  to  give  congregational  shape  and  privileges  to  the  better 
attended  mission  stations.  The  difficulties  encountered  there  would  not  attend 
the  movements  of  a  single  Church. 

f  In  New  York,  and  probably  in  other  cities  also,  there  has  grown  up  a  sys 
tem — if  that  word  can  be  applied  properly  to  anything  so  irregular  and  without 
concert  —  of  mission  churches  and  schools.  It  is  an  obvious  advantage  that 
the  congregations  of  such  cities  should  be  grouped  in  one  Presbytery,  so  as  to 
give  opportunity  for  adjusting  the  orbits  of  these  satellites,  and  securing  by 
united  counsel  and  joint  action  that  they  shall  give  light  where  it  is  most 


468  PKESBYTEEIAN   KEUNTOlSr. 

3.  The  United  Church,  having  rearranged  its  Presby 
teries,  might  easily  direct  Church  extension  among  the 
self-sustaining  districts  in  such  a  way  that  no  strength 
should  be  wasted,  and  that  the  least  possible  temptation 
should  lie  in  the  way  of  pastors  and  people  to  look  with 
jealousy  on  their  neighbors'  prosperity. 

The  loose  and  casual  plan  upon  which  churches  and 
mission  stations  are,  at  present,  too  much  located,  has 
these  disadvantages,  no  one  of  which  may  be  thought 
serious,  but  the  conjoined  result  of  which  is  in  the 
highest  degree  mischievous : 

1.  The  POOR  are  allowed  to  drop  out  of  view  of  the 
Church,  to  fall  into  carelessness,  and  if  ever  won  back, 
which  all  too  often  never  occurs,  it  is  by  whatever 
Church  may  "happen"  to  notice  them.  Of  course  it  is 
well  that  they  should  be  drawn  in  anywhere,  if  they  learn 
Christ ;  but  it  is  a  pity  that  they  should  for  any  length 
of  time  swell  the  ranks  of  the  lapsed  masses,  create 
necessity  for  missions  outside  the  Church,  and  carry 
about  in  their  bosoms  the  rankling  thought  —  as  we 
fear  many  do  —  that  while  they  were  of  some  consider 
ation  the  Church  cared  for  them,  but  so  soon  as  they 
lost  their  position,  disregarded  them.  How  diligently 
Satan  fosters  this  feeling,  by  exaggeration,  misrepresen 
tation,  and  reiteration,  is  known  to  all  who  have  ever  had 
to  do  with  the  neglectors  of  ordinances,  who  were  once 
in  better  circumstances.  As  it  is  now,  people  are  sought 
out  and  visited,  because  they  are  on  the  roll  of  the 
church  or  congregation.  On  the  plan  we  recommend 

wanted,  and  with  the  least  risk  of  their  obstructing  the  path  of  other,  and  in 
some  instances  brighter,  luminaries.  Such  an  object  is  adequate  reason  in 
itself  for. having,  for  the  present,  large  Presbyteries. 


THE   FUTURE   CHURCH. 


they  would  be  reached  with  Christian  care,  because 
they  were  in  the  given  district  which  a  church  had  in 
charge  to  convert  into  a  "garden  inclosed."  The  loss 
to  the  Presbyterian  Church  among  the  poor,  though 
probably  no  greater  than  in  other  communities,  is  yet 
far  too  great  to  be  contemplated  with  indifference. 
Let  us  reform  in  this  respect,  and  earn  the  benediction 
which  comes  on  churches  no  less  than  on  individuals, 
"Blessed  is  he  that  considereth  the  poor." 

2.  Less  important  than  this,  but  yet  not  to  be  over 
looked,  is  the  facility  now  afforded  to  persons  so  in 
clined  to  fall  into  practical  neglect  of  ordinances.  A 
family  takes  a  residence  in  a  given  district.  If  not 
prominent  enough  to  be  anticipated  with  some  interest, 
and  calculated  upon  to  enter  a  particular  congregation, 
the  members  may  remain  long  enough  without  any 
approach  on  the  part  of  Christian  people.  No  one 
feels  responsibility.  No  one  wishes  to  intrude.  No 
one,  with  an  honest,  kindly  zeal  invites  to  the  sanc 
tuary,  and  compels  a  decision  one  way  or  another.  All 
are  apt  to  wait  to  see  what  the  family  will  do.  But 
the  family  will  do  nothing;  and  by  and  by,  some  prov 
idence  makes  explanation  necessary,  and  they  may  be 
heard  saying,  "Where  we  lived  last,  we  attended 
church  regularly,  but  since  we  came  here,  we  knew  no 
one,  and  we  have  fallen  into  neglect."  But  suppose 
the  congregation  charged  with  the  care  of  a  district. 
Now  no  apology  is  needed  for  calling  upon  the  new 
family.  It  is  an  admitted  duty.  It  is  done  from  felt 
responsibility.  It  is  the  way  of  the  place.  If  the  first 
call  is  without  result,  a  second  will  perhaps  succeed, 
and  the  hearts  that  would  have  been  glad  of  an  excuse 


470  PEESBYTEEIAN    KEUNIOIT. 

for  letting  God  alone,  feel  that  God  will  not  let  them 
alone,  and  are  won  to  the  reverent  reception  of  His 
truth.  And  how  many,  under  such  a  well-worked 
arrangement,  would  be  found  saying,  "  We  love  our 
church,  for  when  we  came  here  it  took  kindly  notice 
of  us,  and  drew  us  in,  and  we  never  felt  as  strangers, 
and  God  has  made  it  the  means  of  unspeakable  good 
to  us." 

3.  A  third  bad  consequence  follows :  Districts  neg 
lected  follow  the  usual  law,  and  become  missionary 
ground.  Each  church  is  surrounded  by  a  belt  of  un 
godliness.  It  should  be  reduced  by  the  activities  of  the 
church,  or  rather  should  never  have  been  allowed  to 
form.  Instead  of  this,  it  is  constantly  encroaching  on 
the  church,  widening  itself  and  reducing  the  church 
area.  At  length  there  comes  a  period  of  Christian  ac 
tivity.  "  Here  are  lapsed  people,  living  in  heathenism. 
Shall  we  feel  as  Cain  did  ?  Are  they  to  perish  at  our 
door  ?  Surely  not.  Let  us  form  a  society."  And  so  City 
Missions,  Reformatories,  Refuges, Woman's  Aid,  Helping 
Hands,  and  other  well-meant  expedients,  come  into  being, 
each  with  its  Secretary,  Board,  and  Directors,  first,  sec 
ond,  and  third,  and  try  to  drain  this  Pontine  marsh,  which 
is  not  only  stagnant,  but  malaria-breeding,  and  threaten- 
in^  to  overrun  the  church  itself.  And  so  the  ministers 

o 

have  to  be  "  approached ;  "  the  societies  have  to  be  sus 
tained,  and  their  rival  claims  nicely  adjusted  ;  and  the 
community  has  to  be  interested,  and  —  we  write  it  with 
no  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  real  good  in  these  auxili 
ary  agencies  —  the  churches  are  teased  by  the  persist 
ency  of  worthy  people,  who  have  a  vested  interest  in 
the  life  and  prosperity  of  an  organization,  the  failure 


THE   FUTUEE   CHURCH.  471 

of  which  they  persuade  themselves  would  be  the  col 
lapse  of  Christendom.  And  then  comes  the  long  train 
of  Fairs,  Bazaars,  Concerts,  Lotteries,  with  their  gam 
bling,  and  other  abominations,  by  which  the  world  is 
humbly  entreated,  in  its  worldly  way,  to  help  Christ's 
kingdom,  and  in  which  we  presume,  it  laughs  at  the 
simplicity  of  the  church,  or  despises  its  servility.  And 
in  all  this  the  church  is  punished  in  the  way  of  her  sin. 
Overtake  the  wants  of  the  population,  forsooth  !  How 
did  the  population  get  so  far  ahead  that  it  is  now  a 
hopeless  race  to  overtake  it  ?  By  the  church's  neglect. 
Had  she  done  her  duty,  this  "  mixed  multitude "  had 
not  grown  up  defiant  of  the  societies,  which  are  called 
in  as  mercenaries  to  gain  the  ground  which  the  church 
should  have  conquered  and  held  all  along. 

It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  we  assume  that  our  church 
shall  occupy  all  the  ground  and  include  all  the  popula 
tion.  We  do  not  make  such  an  assumption.  Let  other 
churches  do  the  same  if  they  think  fit,  and  gather  in 
all  in  their  districts  that  are  in  affinity  with  them. 
The  accumulation  of  lapsed  Methodists,  Presbyterians, 
Congregationalists,  and  Episcopalians  will  make  a 
practically  heathen  people ;  and  their  being  cared  for 
in  detail  by  their  respective  churches  will  prevent  the 
catastrophe.  Nor  would  it  be  any  calamity  if  the  Pres 
byterian  elder  should  say  to  the  Methodist  class-leader, 
"  I  came  the  other  day  on  a  family  that  would  more 
readily  fall  into  your  church  than  mine ;  won't  you  try 
them  ? "  When  the  godless  find  churchmen  —  we  use 
the  word  in  its  true  sense  —  thus  work  disinterestedly, 
they  will  be  helped  to  believe  us  something  better  than 


472  PKESBYTEKIAN   EEUNION. 

members   of   ambitious  corporations.      Oh !  for  more 
charity  and  fewer  "  charities  "  ! 

But,  it  may  be  said,  this  process  would  entail  the  em 
ployment  of  a  large  staff  of  Christian  workers.  Of 
course  it  would  require  a  number.  But  in  the  first  in 
stance  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  them  to  her  hand. 
What  are  her  Elders?  A  body  of  "selectmen"  to  comfort 
the  minister  ?  An  honorary  and  ornamental  Committee 
meant  to  give  the  weight  of  their  sanction  to  the  cause, 
as  a  list  of  Presidents  gives  respectability  to  a  charity 
ball  ?  No ;  they  are  a  bench  of  Bishops,  to  whom  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  given  oversight  of  a  congregation.  In 
theory  the  office  is  the  glory  of  our  church.  In  practice, 
it  has  been  a  source  of  immense  strength  to  her.  But 
she  is  not  deriving  from  it  all  the  aid  she  ought  to  ob 
tain,  and  the  fault  is  her  own.  She  has  not  magnified 
the  oifice  that  distinguishes  her.  Other  churches  have 
Bishops.  So  has  she.  Other  churches  have  Deacons. 
So  has  she.  But  she  has  Elders,  as  she  professes  to  be 
lieve,  on  the  New  Testament  plan,  and  with  adaptations 
and  authority  peculiar  to  her.  Let  the  United  Church 
make  the  whole  use  of  the  Eldership  that  Scripture  and 
reason  warrant,  and  she  will  find  herself  possessed  of 
power  she  has  never  yet  realized.  Let  ministers  preach 
on  the  office.  Let  them  teach  the  people  to  magnify 
it.  Let  them  take  pains  to  train  Elders,  to  introduce 
them  to  work,  to  lead  the  people  to  expect  their  visits, 
admonitions,  and  Christian  offices.  Let  earnest  Elders 
deal  with  those  who  are  idle  or  inefficient,*  so  as  to  deepen 
a  sense  of  responsibility,  and  send  the  indolent  either  out 

*  In  some  instances,  Elders'  meetings  — separate  and  distinct  —  for  mutual 
edification  and  prayer,  have  been  set  up,  with  great  advantage. 


THE    FUTURE    CHURCH.  473 

into  the  field,  or  out  of  the  office.  It  is  a  mockery  of 
sacred  things,  and  has  all  the  mischievous  effects  of 
such  mockery,  to  go  through  the  solemn  pageant  of  or 
daining  men  to  duties  they  never  attempt.  Let  us  here 
be  true  to  the  facts  of  life,  and  to  the  commands  of  the 
Master ;  let  us  honor  Him,  and  He  will  honor  us. 

This  waste  of  power  in  the  Eldership  suggests 
another  and  similar  sphere  for  reform.  Here  is  a  vill 
age  that  expects,  like  two-thirds  of  all  American  villages, 
to  become  "  quite  a  place  "  by  and  by.  Some  years  ago, 
a  settled  pastor  did  not  get  on  well.  There  was  some 
trouble  about  his  leaving.  The  consequence  is  that  the 
congregation  has  since  been  provided  for  by  stated 
supplies.  A  minister  is  engaged  from  year  to  year,  but 
not  installed  as  pastor.  A  conscientious  man  will  try 
to  do  spiritual  work  wherever  God  is  pleased  to  put 
him ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  how  much  is  wanting  to  the 
complete  idea  of  the  pastorate  in  this  penny-a-day  plan. 
How  does  a  man  stand  in  the  community  whom  a  con 
gregation  hires  from  year  to  year,  but  does  not  suffi 
ciently  trust  to  require  his  settlement  ?  In  some  instan 
ces,  it  is  true,  the  minister  has  declined  settlement  for 
reasons  of  his  own,  in  which  case  the  history  and  opera 
tion  of  the  evil  are  different,  but  the  evil  itself  remains. 
Both  minister  and  congregation  are  in  a  position  of 
weakness,  relatively  to  one  another,  and  to  the  general 
community.  It  is  good  for  a  minister  to  be  able  to  say 
"  My  people."  If  there  be  true  worth  in  him,  the  words 
recall  responsibility,  Christian  honor,  fidelity  —  "  My 
people  —  who  appreciated  me,  called  me,  asked  my  set 
tlement  over  them  in  the  Lord,  honor  me  in  the  Lord, 
for  whom  I  watch,  pray,  live,  labor ;  and  among  whom, 


474  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

so  far  as  I  know,  I  am  to  die  and  be  buried."  And 
so  it  is  good  for  the  people  to  be  able  to  say  "  Our  pas 
tor."  It  recalls  their  own  act  and  choice,  their  obli^a- 

'  O 

tion  to  receive  his  teaching,  their  union  as  a  congrega 
tion,  their  relation  to  him  and  to  one  another.  "  Our 
pastor,  who  loves  us  and  whom  we  love,  who  be 
longs  to  us,  to  whom  we  belong,  who  goes  in  and  out 
among  us,  in  our  joys  and  sorrows,  sharing  both,  and 
giving  to  us,  the  children,  the  consolation  that  cheered 
our  departing  parents."  This  is  the  feeling  that 
ought  to  be,  and  that  cannot  be  in  the  case  of  these  in 
complete  connections.  "  Moderator,"  said  the  old  man 
when  it  was  proposed  to  transfer  his  pastor  to  another 
sphere,  and  the  Presbytery  was  sitting  upon  the  ques 
tion,  "  our  minister  has  been  with  us  thirty  years. 
He  has  married  most  of  us,  baptized  our  children,  and 
married  many  of  them.  He  has  been  at  the  dying  beds 
and  graves  of  our  departed.  Moderator,  we  hoped  he 
would  live  among  us,  die  among  us,  and  be  buried 
among  us,  and  break  ground  for  us  at  tlie  resurrection 


morn." 


Quaintly  put  as  this  is,  it  embodies  a  fine  sentiment, 
the  strength  and  value  of  which  it  is  impossible  to 
overestimate  in  a  Christian  church.  It  is  desirable 
that  the  Presbyterian  Commonwealth  should  rid  itself 
of  these  anomalies,  which  are  at  war  with  her  theory, 
with  her  organization,  and,  we  humbly  think,  with  her 
efficiency.  A  system  of  rotation,  such  as  our  Metho 
dist  brethren  employ,  works  well,  because  it  is  the  ac 
cepted  plan  of  operations.  But  when,  in  opposition  to 
our  Church's  idea  of  the  pastoral  relation,  the  average 
of  pastorates  is  reduced  to  almost  the  term  of  Metho- 


THE   FUTUKE   CHTJECH.  475 

dist  residence  in  one  locality,  as  it  is  said  to  be  in  New 
England ;  or  when,  as  in  the  case  of  these  long  "  stated 
supplies,"  years  pass  without  any  pastoral  relation 
whatever,  nothing  but  growing  weakness,  derange 
ment,  and  depreciation  of  the  ministerial  office  can 
result.  It  is  a  sore  misfortune  for  the  land  when  her 
rulers  fall  into  contempt,  and  their  office  is  despised, 
for  respect  for  them  is  a  kind  of  chivalrous  self-respect. 
And  it  is  a  terrible  loss  to  a  Christian  community  when 
her  religious  leaders  of  whom  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
says,  "  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,"  and  the 
high  office  they  occupy,  fall  below  their  proper  place 
in  the  community.  To  raise  the  ministry,  not  in  the 
Anglican,  but  the  Presbyterian  and  evangelical  sense, 
is  to  raise  the  entire  Church,  and  to  bless  the  commu 
nity. 

But  this  desirable  elevation  is  closely  connected  with 
another  and  very  commonplace  topic,  the  material  sup 
port  of  the  ministry.  Attention  has  need  to  be  called 
to  this  point,  and  in  many  instances  this  is  all  that 
needs  to  be  done.  Many  congregations  only  require  to 
be  shown  that  they  are  defrauding  the  laborer  of  his 
hire,  that  the  preachers  of  the  gospel  should  live  by  the 
gospel,  and  that  their  minister  only  lives  by  the  gospel 
and  his  own  or  his  wife's  means,  and  they  hasten  to 
rectify  the  wrong.  But  in  many  cases  there  is  an  en 
tirely  mistaken  idea  upon  this  subject,  which  needs  to 
be  energetically  dealt  with,  and  removed,  like  any  other 
practical  error,  by  solid  instruction.  The  agricultural 
population  is  slower  in  movement  than  the  dwellers  in 
cities.  Producing  on  their  own  ground  much  of  what 
they  consume,  the  farmers  form  no  idea  of  how  much  it 


476  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

costs  to  pay  for  everything.  Receiving  the  money 
they  use  once  a  year,  they  are  less  familiar  with  it 
than  traders  who  constantly  pass  it  through  their 
hands,  and  a  sum  of  five  dollars  appears  much  larger 
to  a  farmer  than  it  does  to  a  storekeeper  of  no  greater 
wealth.  Then  the  amount  of  supplies  "  sent  in "  to 
ministers  is  tremendously  overrated  in  quantity,  and 
still  more  in  value  to  him.  On  all  these  accounts  the 
rural  population  has  special  need  of  enlightenment  on 
this  point.  Yet  it  is  not  with  them,  but  with  the 
larger  and  richer  churches,  the  reform  is  to  be  prac 
tically  begun.  When  a  subscription  is  to  be  raised 
in  the  community,  we  go  to  the  larger  givers  first, 
knowing  that  they  will  be  followed  by  the  less  liberal 
or  less  competent.  Precisely  so  we  believe  it  must  be 
with  the  raising  of  the  standard  of  ministerial  income.* 
The  most  obvious  method  of  putting  ministers'  in 
comes  upon  a  basis  not  contemptible  is  by  a  systema 
tized  employment  of  the  resources  of  the  rich  for  sup 
plementing  the  contributions  of  the  poor.  The  Free 
Church  of  Scotland  has  given  prestige  to  the  plan  of 
a  common  fund,  into  which  all  put  their  contributions, 


*  With  this  conviction  we  cannot  regard  with  any  satisfaction  the 
course  pursued,  no  doubt  with  the  best  motives,  by  clergymen  declining 
increased  salaries.  If  they  do  not  require  them,  many  of  their  brethren 
do.  If  they  do  not  need  the  money,  there  are  a  hundred  ways  of  using  it 
for  good ;  and  if  they  are  not  as  capable  as  the  trustees  of  the  church  of 
laying  out  for  God's  glory  a  thousand  dollars  or  so,  they  are  hardly  fit 
to  lead  a  Christian  community.  It  is  not  common  for  a  rich  lawyer  or 
doctor  to  reduce  his  fees  because  he  is  well  off,  nor  would  it  serve  cither 
the  profession  or  the  community.  The  placing  of  the  ministerial  profes 
sion  upon  a  different  basis  in  this  respect,  has  done  much  evil,  of  which  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  take  subsequent  notice. 


THE   FUTUKE   CHUECH.  477 

and  out  of  which  all  congregations  receive  for  their 
ministers  an  "  equal  dividend." 

But  it  by  no  means  follows  that  a  movement  in  Scot 
land  arising  out  of  the  strongest  feeling  naturally 
evoked  by  legislative  wrong,  could  be  here  copied  with 
success,  in  cold  blood.  The  immense  extent  of  country 
over  which  the  Presbyterian  Church  must  operate,  and 
possibly  what  may  be  called  the  national  feeling,  are 
unfavorable  to  such  a  common  sustentation  fund.  But 
we  are  already  sustaining  many  of  the  weaker  "causes" 
through  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  and  otherwise. 

O  ' 

The  consolidation  of  these  resources  and  operations  might 
be  made  to  do  the  work  at  the  lower  end  of  the  scale, 
while  the  movement  of  intelligence  and  liberality  from 
the  higher  might  meet  it,  and  so  produce  a  church 
above  reproach  on  the  score  of  justice  to  ministers :  for 
surely  it  is  not  the  divine  w411  that  the  world  should  be 
brought  to  truth,  justice,  and  piety,  through  a  ministry 
systematically  wronged  and  underpaid.* 

For  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  a  work  of  this  kind, 
we  have  an  order  of  officers  —  the  Deacons  — to  whom  it 
is  appropriate,  and  ought  to  be  congenial,  work.  The 


*  One  of  the  very  strongest  arguments  on  behalf  of  the  national  estab 
lishment  of  the  British  Isles  is  founded  upon  the  inadequacy  of  ministers' 
incomes  in  America.  They  can  tell  there  of  ministers  among  us  keeping 
stores,  and  being  driven  to  still  more  unprofessional  pursuits  —  almost  as 
much  so  as  Paul's  tent-making.  They  make  rather  merry  over  such 
accounts  as  they  have  received  of  "  donation  parties;  "  and  they  allege 
that  churches  so  sustained  cannot  raise  and  educate  in  the  natural  way 
their  own  ministers.  Even  so  lately  as  the  last  meeting  of  the  Scottish 
Assembly  [Established],  Dr.  Norman  McLeod  urged  this  argument  with 
all  his  characteristic  force  and  earnestness.  American  failure  in  this  par 
ticular  is  a  strong  buttress  of  Old  World  state  churches. 


478  PBESBYTEKIAN   EEUNION. 

legislative  arrangements  of  the  country  regarding  ten 
ures  take  out  of  the  deacons'  disposal  and  give  to  the 
trustees  what  in  European  churches  is  supposed  to  be 
peculiar  to  the  deacons'  court.  How  much  good  public 
service  even  a  few  spirited  men,  conversant  with  affairs, 
themselves  accustomed  to  business  life,  might  effect  by 
the  agitation  and  discussion  of  this  question  !  Let  us 
suppose  them  to  call  a  State  convention ;  to  invite  all 
denominations  to  send  representatives;  to  compare 
notes ;  to  ascertain  how  many  ministers  —  educated  for 
the  work  at  some  expense,  often  at  the  public  expense  — 
had  been  starved  out  of  it ;  to  compare  the  usual  mode 
of  providing  ministerial  incomes ;  to  examine  their  pro 
portion  to  the  incomes  of  other  forms  of  educated  indus 
try  ;  to  tabulate  and  publish  the  results ;  and  then  to 
set  about  acting  on  such  suggestions  as  could  not  fail  to 
be  elicited :  suppose  other  States  to  follow  the  example, 
what  an  amount  of  good  might  be  done  to  the  Church 
and  to  the  country  ! 

For  our  sober  and  deliberate  opinion  is,  that  on  this 
side  is  the  greatest  weakness  of  the  American  churches. 
In  zeal,  fidelity  to  the  world,  energy,  and  capacity  of 
adaptation  to  the  wants  of  men,  they  have  no  superior. 
But  the  arrangements  regarding  the  supply  and  main 
tenance  of  ministers  are  open  to  criticism.  Of  course, 
we  who  live  in  the  country  understand  the  allowances 
that  have  to  be  made  for  its  peculiar  circumstances, 
arising  from  a  history  like  which  the  world  has  no  other. 
But  others  have  not  the  intelligence,  perhaps  not  always 
the  candor,  to  take  these  things  into  account ;  yet  the 
fact  may  be  fairly  weighed,  as  one  of  many  considera 
tions  that  should  stimulate  us  to  reform. 


THE   FUTUKE   CHUECH.  479 

Our  attention  has  been  fixed,  so  far,  upon  the  means 
of  "  strengthening  the  stakes."  But  when  the  Church 
has  put  her  machinery  in  the  best  working  order,  when 
the  organization  is  as  thorough  as  it  can  be  made,  what 
is  it  to  accomplish  ?  What  work  is  to  be  done  ? 

To  this  question  but  one  answer  can  be  given.  The 
great  function  of  the  Church  is  to  teach  the  truth.  The 
Church  is  a  mighty  civilizer.  She  keeps  intellect  awake. 
She  is  a  grand  reformer.  Science  nourishes  most  where 
her  testimony  is  clearest  and  best  heard.  Commerce 
lives  in  the  security  and  confidence  she  begets.  Crime 
is  kept  mainly  outside  her  territory.  But  all  those 
incidental  and  collateral  benefits  are  attained,  not 
when  directly  aimed  at,  but  as  the  results  of  the 
Church's  fidelity  to  her  main  duty  —  the  duty  of  wit 
nessing  to  the  truth.  When  these  objects  are  aimed  at 
as  primary,  the  consequence  is  often  enough  a  failure ; 
when  the  salvation  of  men  is  directly  aimed  at,  the 
minor  benefits  come  in  their  place  as  consequences. 
There  is  indeed  no  true  social  or  moral  movement  in 
which  the  Churchman  may  not  take  his  place.  There  is 
no  honest  human  effort  in  which  he  may  not,  if  it.be 
otherwise  suitable,  bear  a  part ;  but  his  main  power  to 
do  good,  his  special  and  distinctive  "  talent,"  is  setting 
forth  the  Christian  truth.  To  use  a  bad  instrument 
when  a  good  is  at  hand ;  to  employ  an  old  flint-gun 
when  the  newest  and  best  can  be  had  —  such  a  course 
is,  by  common  consent,  foolish  either  in  peace  or  in  war. 
Why,  then,  should  men  armed  with  that  which  is  "  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  "  turn  to  weaker  wea 
pons  ?  Is  human  ingenuity  to  succeed  where  the  power 
of  God  is  ineffectual?  Is  human  speculation  to  avail 


480  PEESBYTEEIAlSr   EEUNION. 

where  divine  revelation  fails  ?  Will  good  be  done  by 
ingenious  essays  on  petty  side-issues,  if  "  the  cross  of 
Christ "  be  impotent  ?  He  who  loves  Zion  may  well 
pray  and  labor  that  the  Church  of  his  affection  may  be 
ever  distinguished  by  her  decided,  upright,  downright, 
thorough  evangelicalism.  Let  her  ministers  be  "  Gospel 
lers."  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  sharp-cutting 
instrument  with  w~hich  they  are  to  clear  away  vices  and 
crimes.  "  If  the  iron  be  blunt,"  says  the  wise  man,  "  and 
he  do  not  whet  the  edge,  then  must  he  put  to  more 
strength."  And  many  a  strong  man  is  toiling  with  a 
blunt  axe,  when  the  sharpest  possible  is  within  his 
reach.  "  For  the  Word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerful,  and 
sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to  the 
dividing  asunder  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  dis- 
cerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart."  Let 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  future  be  marked  above 
all  by  this,  that  her  ministers  are  teachers  of  the  Word, 
in  Sabbath  schools,  in  Bible  classes,  in  the  pulpit ;  let 
her  people  be  thorough  in  their  knowledge  of  the  Scrip 
tures;  let  her  prayers,  her  sermons,  her  literature  be 
rich  in  scripture  truth ;  and  her  energies  will  be  little 
wasted  and  her  time  little  consumed  in  the  temper-trying 
discussion  of  such  petty  crotchets  as  have  all  too  often 
vexed  the  community.* 

*  The  earlier  Protestants  were  distinguished  by  their  using  their  Bibles  in 
church.  Men  have  heard  of  the  great  English  evangelist's  amazement  when 
he  read  his  text  in  a  Scottish  pulpit,  at  the  rustle  of  the  leaves  as  the  people 
turned  it  up  in  their  Bibles.  Why  have  we  abandoned  this  goodly  custom  of 
the  fathers,  both  of  Scotland  and  of  New  England  ?  Why  not  use  our  Bibles 
in  church  ?  We  need  every  help  to  memory  in  divine  things,  and  it  is  of 
some  importance  to  be  able  to  ' '  place  "  the  great  sayings  of  inspiration.  Noth 
ing  can  be  more  pitiable  than  the  helplessness  of  many  a  professing  Christian, 


THE   FUTUEE   CHUECH.  481 

We  make  no  apology  for  adverting  at  this  point  to 
the  imperative  necessity  that  exists  for  securing  for  our 
children  thorough  scriptural  instruction  in  the  Sunday 
schools.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  of  the  homage  done  to 
God's  Word  by  its  being  read  in  our  common  schools ; 
but  if  the  American  churches  persuade  themselves  that 
anything  approaching  to  real  scriptural  knowledge  is 
thus  given  to  any  considerable  proportion  of  our  popu 
lation,  we  fear  it  is  a  mischievous  delusion.  Thousands 
have  passed  through  them  with  no  more  knowledge  of 
the  Word  than  suffices  for  a  flippant  allusion,  or  a  pro 
fane  reference.  The  Church  must  see  to  it  that  the 
Word  of  her  God  be  taught  her  young  members,  or  they 
will  be  practically  ignorant  of  it.  Nor  is  it  at  all 
certain  that  their  attendance  on  the  Sabbath  school  is 
an  adequate  remedy.  Many  teachers  are  incompetent 
as  teachers  /  and  much  of  the  Sunday-school  literature 
which  is  superseding  the  reading  of  the  Bible  is  worse 
than  useless.  It  is  mischievous.  What  can  be  the 
effect  of  giving  children  mere  stories  with  just  enough 
spice  of  religion  to  make  them  "  Sunday  books,"  but  to 
drive  them  to  novels?  For  novelettes  many  of  these 
volumes  are,  and  often  poor  as  such.  There  is  little 
reading,  and  no  study  of  Scripture  on  week-days ;  and 
on  Sabbath  it  is  supposed  to  be  as  it  should  if  the  chil 
dren  are  engaged  with  their  Sunday-school  books ;  and  so 
they  grow  to  maturity,  with  only  the  most  superficial 
ideas  of  the  holy  oracles.  The  years  roll  on,  and  they 
go  West,  or  to  Europe,  or  to  social  circles  at  home,  where 
indifference  or  scepticism  reigns,  or  where  some  human 

when  an  occasion  arises  for  finding, — say  one  of  the  minor  prophets.     And 
yet  this  book  is  his  Bible  —  the  foundation  of  all  his  hopes  ! 
31 


482  PEESBYTEEIAN   BELTNTOIS'. 

"  ism "  is  in  the  ascendant,  and  they  have  no  definite 
knowledge  to  the  contrary,  and  go  with  the  tide.  All 
this  must  be  considered  by  the  Church,  if  her  children 
are  to  be  safe.* 

And  at  this  point  let  us  not  suppress  the  hope  that 
the  catechism  of  the  Church  will  receive  increased 
attention  in  the  training  of  the  young.  If  the  vows 
which  parents  make  in  the  act  of  dedicating  their  chil 
dren  to  God  mean  anything,  the  parents  bind  themselves 
to  teach  their  offspring  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Do  they  ?  Were  we  to  ask  thousands  of  pro 
fessing  Christians,  "  What  doctrines  of  the  Christian  re 
ligion  have  you  taught  your  children  ?  "  we  should  get 
no  satisfactory  answer.  If  our  young  people  were  left 
to  learn  arithmetic  and  grammar  in  the  haphazard  way 
in  which  they  are  left  to  learn  these  doctrines,  these  un 
ambitious  attainments  would  be  much  rarer  than  they 
are.  No  wonder  that  a  speculation  cannot  be  pro 
pounded  among  us  so  silly  that  it  shall  not  find  follow 
ers.  Multitudes,  and  that  where  the  population  is  the 
least  affected  by  the  tide  of  emigration,  have  no  anchor 
in  definite  religious  knowledge,  and  are  consequently 
blown  about  by  every  wind.  True,  it  is  easy  to  make 
flippant  statements  about  the  difiiculty  of  learning  our 
catechism,  and  its  obscurity  to  the  young  mind.  The 
young  mind  finds  the  multiplication-table  hard  ;  learns 

*  It  will  not,  I  trust,  be  thought  improper  to  refer  here  to  the  fact  that  the 
Scotch-Irish  form  so  large  and  so  reliable  a  portion  of  many  a  congregation,  and 
that  it  is  because  they  have  been  so  grounded  in  the  truths  of  the  Word,  that 
when  they  settle,  instead  of  consulting  mere  convenience,  they  either  find 
out  or  they  form  a  congregation  where  they  can  have  the  same  old,  definite 
truths.  There  are,  of  course,  many  sad  exceptions,  but  such  is  the  general 
course  ;  and  such  is  its  explanation. 


THE    FUTTJEE    CHUECH.  483 

it  as  a  mere  matter  of  memory,  and  finds  the  use  of  it 
afterwards.  It  is  so  with  much  of  the  education  of 
every  one  of  us.  Common  sense,  observation,  and 
fidelity  to  our  vows  all  combine  to  urge  upon  parents 
the  right  and  conscientious  use  of  a  help  so  valuable  in 
•giving  the  young  members  of  the  Church  a  competent 
knowledge  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion.* 
In  confirmation  of  the  views  here  presented,  and  with 
general  reference  to  the  fitness  of  Presbyterianism  to 
instruct  and,  if  we  may  so  say,  unify  a  people,  let 
the  reader  give  a  moment's  thought  to  Scotland.  Small 
as  a  country,  and  one  half  of  it  moor ;  long  harassed  by 
wars,  intestine  and  foreign;  in  constant  jeopardy  from 
the  ambition  of  England,  and  compelled  again  and 
again  to  buy  her  freedom  with  blood,  what  a  power 
she  has  been  in  religion,  in  philosophy,  in  commerce,  in 
politics,  and  in  war !  How  much  she  has  moulded  human 
thought,  and  influenced  human  action  !  Her  Church  has 
again  and  again  been  violently  agitated,  and  many  a  se 
cession  has  taken  place  in  her  borders.  But  her  seceders 
carry  with  them  her  Confession  of  Faith,  her  catechism, 
her  forms  of  government  and  of  worship,  without  the 
slightest  change.  The  overwhelming  mass  of  her  people 
are  Presbyterians.  Look  at  England,  which  has  also  a 
Church,  from  which  an  enormous  proportion  of  the 


*  It  has  been  shrewdly  observed  that  the  method  of  baptism  in  the  English 
Establishment  —  the  placing  of  the  responsibility  of  training  upon  persons  who 
became  sponsors  as  a  mere  act  of  social  courtesy,  and  who  mean  nothing —  has 
done  much  to  send  people  into  the  ranks  of  the  Baptists.  It  is  matter  for 
congratulation  that  there  was  such  an  excellent  body  to  receive  them ;  for  the 
rough  sense  of  mankind  will  always  ask  the  value  of  infant  baptism,  detached 
from  parental  teaching.  ' '  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them." 


484  PEESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

population,  nearly  a  half,  have  seceded.  But  when  they 
have  gone  out  they  have  uniformly  left  behind  them 
bishop,  prayer-book,  and  catechism,  and  adopted  or  set  up 
something  entirely  without  all  these  - —  often  conspicu 
ously  opposed  to  them.  English  seceders  get  away  as 
far  as  they  can  from  their  former  system ;  Scottish  sece 
ders,  without  exception,  have  gone  out  avowedly  and 
actually  to  obtain  a  purer  Presbyterianism.  We  ad 
duce  this  notable  historical  comparison,  not  with  regard 
to  the  relative  goodness  of  either  system,  but  as  proof 
that  a  Presbyterian  Church,  rightly  worked,  gives  stabil 
ity,  steadfastness,  and  a  healthy,  safe,  conservative  bias 
to  a  people.  It  is  therefore,  we  humbly  venture  to 
think,  well  adapted  to  elevate  a  country  like  ours,  —  a 
country  whose  population  is  so  various  in  training, 
mental  habits,  and  tendencies,  and  in  which  change  is 
all  too  readily  presumed  to  be  improvement. 

For  another  feature  of  the  Scottish  population  de 
serves  our  notice  in  this  connection.  Though  repeated 
schisms  have  weakened  the  "  Kirk  "  established  in  the 
country,  the  population  is  exceptionally  homogeneous 
in  religious  thinking.  Not  only  is  Arianism,  for  exam 
ple,  unknown,  but  even  denominations  elsewhere  strong, 
such  as  Congregationalism  and  Methodism,  have  hardly 
found  materials  with  which  to  build.  Whether  this  is 
an  advantage  or  not,  may  be  a  matter  of  divergent  view. 
The  question  is  not  material  to  our  object.  The  point  we 
emphasize  is,  that  Presbyterianism  has  held  and  united 
the  whole  people.  It  has  retained  the  strongest  hold 
on  the  popular  mind,  as  evidenced  by  the  influence  of 
its  courts.  The  Times  newspaper,  though  conspicuously 
unfriendly  to  Scotland,  in  a  review  of  the  last  General 


THE   FUTURE   CHTJKCH.  485 

Assemblies  and  the  U.  P.  Synod,  describes  them  as  the 
most  influential  ecclesiastical  assemblies  in  the  British 
empire,  compared  with  which  the  meetings  of  the  Con 
gregational  Union  and  Convocation  are  feeble.  These 
courts  of  review  exercise  real  power.  They  decide 
cases,  legislate  upon  questions  that  have  interested  kirk- 
sessions,  presbyteries,  and  synods,  and  so  have  reached 
the  entire  thoughtful  mind  of  the  country.  The  effect 
of  such  an  agency  here  ought  to  be  the  same  as  it  has 
been  there — to  bind  the  people  together  in  conviction 
and  sympathy ;  to  maintain  the  recollection  of  a  real 
and  spiritual  authority  in  the  world ;  to  keep  alive  in 
men's  minds  the  feeling  that  there  is  a  kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  which  and  through  which  he  speaks  on  earth ; 
and  so  to  give  to  men  in  a  true  and  evangelical  way 
what  the  Church  of  Rome  offers  in  corrupt  and  un- 
scriptural  fashion,  but  yet  by  presenting  which,  and  so 
satisfying  a  craving  of  the  human  spirit,  she  commends 
herself  to  mankind,  and  maintains  her  position. 

In  order  to  realize  this  high  object,  and  become  a  yet 
greater  power  for  good  in  the  country,  we  doubt  not 
the  Church  of  the  future  will  seek  in  a  higher  degree  to 
popularize  her  services.  And  this,  we  apprehend,  will 
be  done,  not  so  much  by  the  adoption  of  new,  as  by  the 
resumption  of  former  methods.  Take,  for  example,  the 
subject  of  singing  in  divine  service.  In  many  churches 
this  noble  function  of  the  Church  has  been  relegated  to 
a  few  persons,  and  the  appearance  a  congregation  pre 
sents  to  an  observant  heathen  would  be  that  of  a  body 
of  people  in  a  large  building,  at  one  end  of  which,  on  an 
eminence  above  the  people,  a  man  does  all  the  praying 


486  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

and  talking,  and  at  the  other  end  of  which,  three  or  four 
others,  at  a  greater  elevation,  do  all  the  praising  !  This 
plan  is  bad  enough  in  city  churches,  but  when  it  is 
rudely  mimicked  in  small  villages,  as  it  has  been  seen, 
it  is  intolerable.  It  recalls  Conybeare's  description  of 
the  state  of  matters  in  many  English  churches,  where  a 
set  of  the  worst  reprobates  in  the  parish  bawl  out  "  the 
Hanthem,"  or  shriek  out  the  Psalms,  out  of  which  the 
poetry  has  been  previously  extracted  by  Tate  &  Brady. 
Musical  faculty  and  moral  worth  do  not,  unhappily,  al 
ways  go  together  ;  and  where  the  "  voices  "  in  the  sing 
ers'  gallery  disport  themselves  in  the  intervals  of  their 
performance  in  a  way  more  like  their  week-day  than 
their  Sabbath  spheres,  the  farce  is  turned  into  an  abom 
ination.  We  shall  live,  let  us  hope,  to  see  this  thing 
banished  from  evangelical  churches.  All  the  history  of 
Protestantism  is  against  it.  Luther  led  Germany  to 
worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth  in  no  small  degree 
through  the  popular  hymn-singing.  Knox  had  the 
Scottish  people  taught  to  praise  God  so  thoroughly, 
that  a  mass-meeting  could  sing  a  psalm  through  without 
books,  and  in  the  "  parts  "  of  the  melody.  The  Wes- 
leys,  the  power  and  value  of  whose  work  can  hardly  be 
overrated,  sung  Methodism  into  the  cots  and  hearts  of 
the  most  inaccessible  of  the  English  population.  The 
spectacle  of  a  church  claiming  to  win  the  masses,  and 
taking  from  them  the  one  portion  of  public  worship  in 
which  they  can  all  unite,  would  be,  if  not  so  saddening, 
supremely  ridiculous. 

It  is  idle  to  say  that  certain  people  get  music  of  the 
highest  order  elsewhere,  and  if  they  cannot  have  it  in 


THE   FUTUEE    CHURCH.  487 

the  church  they  will  not  come.  The  patrons  of  the  opera 
and  theatre  have  never  been  of  so  much  real  value  in  the 
Church  as  to  be  worth  consulting,  and  least  of  all  should 
devout  and  serious  worshippers  be  wronged  and  driven 
away,  for  the  aesthetic  satisfaction  of  casual  and  pat 
ronizing  visitors  to  the  services.  Let  Israel  worship 
God  as  He  has  appointed,  and  let  the  "  mixed  multitude" 
follow,  or  keep  away.  But  the  army  of  the  Lord  is  not 
to  change  its  plans  for  the  idle  pleasure  of  the  camp-fol 
lowers.  And  it  is  vain  to  think  of  winning  the  world 
by  mere  music.  What  is  the  value  to  any  church  of 
such  acquisitions?  The  week-day  entertainments  sup 
ply  the  genuine  article,  and  without  making  the  church 
an  actual  theatre,  you  cannot  compete  with  them. 

Whether  a  less  formal  style  of  pulpit  address  will  be 
adopted  in  the  future,  is  an  open  question.  There  al 
ways  will  be  in  the  Church  probably  —  and  to  the 
Church's  advantage  —  a  number  of  men  who  will  read 
sermons,  which  by  their  very  nature  almost  require  to 
be  read.  But  possibly  the  power  of  the  ministers,  as  a 
whole,  would  be  increased  by  their  speaking  instead  of 
reading  their  discourses.  We  have  to  get  rid  of  the 
phrase  '"''extempore  preaching."  There  never  was  con 
tinuous  good  extempore  preaching.  Any  preaching,  to 
be  good,  must  be  carefully  prepared,  in  the  order  of 
thought,  links  of  argument,  substance  of  illustration, 
and  in  some  parts  in  the  phraseology.  It  is  not  unrea 
sonable  to  think  that  the  minister  can  remember  what 
he  expects  his  people  to  remember.  And  it  is  hard  to 
expect  the  audience  to  carry  away  definite  thought 
which  an  educated  man  cannot  put  into  intelligible  Ian- 


488  PEESBYTEEIAN    EEUNION. 

guage  and  speak  to  them.  At  the  same  time,  it  must 
not  be  forgotten,  that  no  rule  can  be  laid  down  that  will 
apply  to  all  cases ;  that  men  will  always  do  their  work 
according  to  their  aptitudes  and  tastes ;  and  that  the 
great  power  that  is  wanted  is  not  so  much  that  of  free 
utterance  or  finished  reading,  as  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  When  we  recollect  that  Jonathan  Edwards 
read  closely  those  sermons  through  which  so  noted  a 
revival  was  produced,  we  are  interrupted  in  our  gener 
alizations.  God  "  divideth  to  every  man  severally  as  He 
will." 

That  the  organization  of  the  Church  is  adapted  to 
the  institutions  of  our  country,  and  that  it  can  work 
harmoniously  with  them,  is  a  truth  so  obvious  as  to  re 
quire  only  statement.  Again  and  again  there  has  been 
collision  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  Continent  be 
tween  the  civil  government  and  the  churches.  We  see 
no  likelihood  of  such  conflict  here.  A  free  church 
works  without  obstruction  in  a  free  state  ;  and  the  in 
telligence,  constancy,  and  fidelity  to  principle,  which 
the  Church  inculcates  and  fosters,  constitute  the  best 
guarantee  for  the  stability  and  security  of  a  people's 
government.  No  man  can  possibly  forecast  the  future, 
but  it  is  not  too  much  to  hope  that,  with  the  growing 
and  consolidating  Republic,  there  will  also  advance  and 
prosper  a  Presbyterian  Church,  whose  influence  shall 
bind  together  and  bless  these  United  States. 

For  one  can  see  no  reason  to  anticipate  any  material 
changes  in  the  forms  or  methods  of  our  Church.  Our 
brethren  of  other  denominations,  as  it  seems  to  us,  find 
it  wise  and  proper  to  adopt  methods —  to  say  the 


THE    FUTUEE    CHURCH.  489 

least  —  very  like  ours,  when  they  wish  to  extend  their 
church  operations.  The  best  and  most  evangelical 
Episcopal  missionary  society  has  as  little  to  do  with 
the  bishops  as  it  can.  The  "Union"  of  our  valued 
Congregational  brethren  in  England,  or  here,  looks  to  us 
—  and  we  regard  it  only  with  kindly  interest  —  like 
"  feeling  after  "  our  method  of  concerted  action.  So, 
when  times  of  revival  have  come,  the  free  worship  for 
which  we  have  always  contended  becomes  natural  to 
many  who  declined  it  before,  and  men  pray  as  the 
Spirit  gives  them  utterance.  No  amount  of  religious 
earnestness,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  will  render  our  ma 
chinery  useless,  or  our  forms  of  worship  obsolete.  The 
current  of  spiritual  life  cannot  become  so  deep  that 
our  system  shall  have  no  channel  for  it.  Let  millenni 
al  knowledge  and  peace  come  in,  and  the  simple  forms 
of  our  Church  will  well  avail  for  the  expression  and 
culture  of  religious  feeling.  When  "  the  people  shall  be 
all  righteous,"  they  can  be  safely  trusted  to  "  look  out 
among  them "  men  of  good  report  for  places  in  the 
Church.  When  mutual  love  is  fervent,  free  men  can 
meet  and  confer  without  collision  of  temper,  or  viola 
tion  of  the  unity  of  the  Spirit.  The  supremacy  of 
God's  Word,  the  Headship  of  Christ  over  His  Church 
and  people,  the  brotherhood  and  parity  of  His  minis 
ters,  and  His  constant  presence  with  His  Church  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  energizes  her  effort  and  makes  effec 
tual  the  means  of  grace  —  these  doctrines,  for  which 
the  Presbyterian  Church  has  ever  been  a  witness,  will 
not  dwindle  into  insignificance  in  that  coming  and  glo 
rious  time,  when  "  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house 


490  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and 
when  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it "  -  a  period  of  glory 
and  blessedness  into  which,  we  believe,  will  extend  the 
future  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a  period  for 
the  speedy  approach  of  which  it  is  her  duty  and  her 
honor  to  pray  and  labor. 


APPENDIX. 


UNIYEBSITY 


APPENDIX. 


I. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  CHURCH  (OLD  SCHOOL  BRANCH) 
SINCE  1837.     BY  THE  REV.  DAVID  IRVING,  D.D. 

A  GENERATION  has  passed  away  since  our  Church  became  two 
bands.  The  forces  which  divided  it  did  not  arrest  the  life  and  aggressive 
action  of  the  two  separate  parts.  Each  gradually  took  up  an  inde 
pendent  position,  and  sought  in  its  own  way  to  advance  the  interests 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  Each  at  the  outset  had  its  own  denned 
policy,  which  has  either  been  modified  or  enlarged  to  meet  new  de 
mands  or  a  new  order  of  things ;  and  each  has  been  brought,  as  the 
result  of  a  thorough  and  intelligent  experience,  to  see  eye  to  eye,  as 
to  the  best  mode  of  conducting  the  work  and  the  varied  schemes  of 
the  Church. 

But  it  is  only  with  one  branch  of  the  reunited  body  we  have  to 
do,  and  to  show  in  figures,  as  far  as  these  can  express  its  vital  forces, 
the  things  accomplished  by  it. 

Energy  and  an  enlightened  denominational  zeal  has  marked  the 
ecclesiastical  life  and  history  of.  the  Old  School  branch.  Holding  to 
certain  great  principles  of  action  before  the  disruption,  it  has  steadily 
and  with  an  increasing  devotion  maintained  them  since.  This  has 
not  interfered  with  what  it  regarded  as  outside  efforts.  To  humane 
and  philanthropic  enterprises  it  has  given,  through  its  local  churches 
and  individual  gifts,  much  generous  sympathy  and  aid,  and  it  may  be 
truly  said  that  no  portion  of  Christ's  Church,  according  to  its  numeri 
cal  strength,  has  done  more  for  such  movements  than  the  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  family  in  this  land.  A  small  part  of  what  the  Old 
School  has  done  in  this  line  of  effort  may  be  seen  in  the  "  Miscella 
neous"  column  of  its  "Minutes,"  which  amounts  in  the  last  three 
years  to  $1,211,654.  This  sum  is  mainly  the  result  of  congregational 
493 


494 


PEESBYTEEIAN    KEUNION. 


collections;  the  steady  outflow  of  individual  donations  cannot  be 
estimated. 

It  took  time  for  each  branch  to  settle  down  into  a  healthy  and  work 
ing  condition;  hence  the  Minutes  of  1838  can  give  no  just  estimate 
of  the  relative  strength  and  state  of  the  two  parties.  These  can  be 
gathered  more  truly  from  the  published  records  of  1840,  when  each 
knew  its  true  place  and  the  number  of  its  friends  and  adherents. 

The  undivided  Church  made  the  following  report  in  1837  : 


a 

K 

• 

u 

u 

a 

H 

i 

<a 
| 

1 

s 

£ 

Z 

U 

u 

i 
Q 
Z 

s 

MEMBERS. 

PH 

§ 

>3 

U 

u 

=3 

135 

2,140 

280 

244 

2,865 

220,557 

The  following  is  the  statistical  report  of  the  Old  School  in  1840 


« 

u 

§ 

U 
H 

cq 

M 
U 

H 

p 

z 

H 

Q 

5 

jjj 

u 
g 

MEMBERS. 

U 

Z 

z 

9 

a 

OT 

CH 

* 

p-1 

o 

u 

17 

96 

1,221 

185 

199 

1,763 

126,583 

From  this  period  until  1869,  the  last  time  when  its  Minutes  as  a 
distinct  organization  were  issued,  we^have  thirty  working  years,  in 
cluding  that  of  1840 ;  dividing  this  into  three  equal  portions,  and  we 
have  the  following  results  : 


S3 

M 

« 

1 

u 

ui 

Q 

o 

n 

I 

H 

Z 

0 

5 

H 

u 

MEMBERS. 

H 

2 

u 

z 

D 

H 

CO 

PH 

S 

i-l 

U 

U 

1849 

23 

122 

1,860 

252 

364 

2,512 

200,830 

1859 

33 

1  68 

2,577 

297 

493 

3,487 

279,630 

1869 

27 

143 

2,381 

187 

376 

2,740 

258,903 

APPENDIX.  495 

In  the  first  decade  there  is  a  gain  of  6  synods,  26  presbyteries,  639 
ministers,  67  licentiates,  165  candidates,  749  churches,  and  74,247 
members.  In  the  second  decade  there  is  a  gain  of  10  synods,  46 
presbyteries,  717  ministers,  45  licentiates,  129  candidates,  975 
churches,  and  78,800  members.  In  the  third  period  there  is  a  de 
crease  of  6  synods,  25  presbyteries,  196  ministers,  no  licentiates, 
117  candidates,  747  churches,  and  20,727  communicants. 

This  last  period  covers  two  important  secessions  from  the  body. 
One  of  these  in  1861,  when  10  synods,  45  presbyteries,  embracing 
741  ministers,  and  1,134  churches,  with  nearly  76,000  communicants, 
in  what  was  then  called  the  Confederate  States,  withdrew,  and  were 
organized  into  a  separate  Church;  the  other  in  1866,  when  the  larger 
portion  of  the  churches  in  Kentucky,  and  about  one-half  of  the 
churches  in  Missouri,  embracing  some  10,000  members,  ceased  to  be 
enrolled  as  an  integral  part  of  our  Church.  This  last  period,  though 
showing  from  the  causes  specified  a  loss  in  the  aggregate,  was  yet 
equally  with  the  others  a  reaping  time,  and  considering  all  the  cir 
cumstances  in  our  national  and  ecclesiastical  affairs,  was  one  of  the 
richest  results  and  most  decided  growth.  Thus  370,589  members  in 
the  three  decades  were  admitted  on  profession  of  their  faith  into 
communion  with  the  church.  In  the  first  were  received  93,546  on 
examination;  in  the  second,  139,657;  and  in  the  third,  137,386. 
Taking  the  first  twenty  years,  when  a  comparison  only  can  be  drawn 
between  the  relative  increase  of  the  Old  School  Church  and  that  of 
the  country  at  large,  and  we  have  this  interesting  fact,  that  whilst  the 
increase  of  population  in  the  latter  from  1840  to  1860  was  81^-  per 
cent,  the  advance  in  the  membership  of  our  Church  was  131  per 
cent. 

At  the  time  of  the  separation  the  Church  was  engaged  in  evange 
listic  efforts  at  home  and  abroad.  The  organizations  aided  were  both 
ecclesiastical  and  voluntary.  These  were  not,  however,  as  numerous 
and  comprehensive  as  the  schemes  instituted  and  fostered  by  each 
branch  in  later  times.  Three  prominent  causes  were  aided  by  those 
who  adhered  to  the  Old  School  body,  and  these  were  in  one  form  or 
another  under  ecclesiastical  control,  viz.,  Foreign  Missions,  Domestic  ' 
Missions,  and  Education.  As  soon  as  the  division  took  place,  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  was  transferred  to  the  General 
Assembly,  and  through  it  as  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  has  the 


496  PEESBYTEEIAN 


Church  sought  the  evangelization  of  Jew  and  Gentile,  of  Romanist, 
Pagan,  and  Mohammedan.  The  "  Board  for  the  Publication  of  Tracts 
and  Sabbath-school  Books,"  afterwards  changed  to  the  "  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication,"  was  transferred,  under  the  name  of  "  The 
Presbyterian  Tract  and  Sabbath-school  Book  Society,"  from  the  Synod 
of  Philadelphia  to  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1838,  and  be 
came  one  of  the  accredited  agencies  of  the  Church.  The  Church 
Extension  Committee,  afterwards  called  "  Board,"  was  instituted  by 
the  Assembly  in  1844,  and  continued  under  the  direction  and  over 
sight  of  the  Board  of  Missions  till  1855,  when  it  became  a  distinct 
body,  and  was  located  at  St.  Louis.  The  sixth  benevolent  scheme 
of  the  Church  was  inaugurated  by  the  General  Assembly  in  1849,  to 
meet  the  wants  of  disabled  ministers  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of 
deceased  ministers.  The  funds  for  this  object  were  disbursed  by  the 
Board  of  Publication  upon  the  recommendation  of  presbyteries,  and 
afterwards  they  were  transferred  for  distribution  to  the  trustees  of  the 
General  Assembly.  The  seventh  ecclesiastical  agency  is  the  Assem 
bly's  Committee  on  Freedmen,  authorized  by  the  supreme  judicatory 
of  the  Church  in  1864,  but  which  did  not  get  into  active  and  effective 
working  until  the  following  year. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  from  this  simple  statement  that  the  benevolent 
schemes  of  our  Church  have  more  than  doubled  since  its  separate  and 
independent  action,  and  that  they  cover  very  broad  and  important 
interests,  both  in  themselves  and  in  their  immediate  bearing  upon  the 
extension  of  Christ's  own  cause  among  all  classes  and  in  all  lands. 
In  their  support  many  hearts  have  been  enlisted,  and  for  their  ad 
vancement  and  success  much  Christian  activity,  generosity,  self- 
denial,  and  prayer  have  been  given  and  consecrated.  Such  offerings 
have  been  blessed  to  many  souls,  and  have  been  a  great  spiritual 
power  in  the  Church  itself. 

In  summing  up  the  contributions  of  our  Zion  to  the  different  spe 
cified  objects,  we  can  only  gather  up  the  amounts  contributed  directly 
to  the  respective  Boards  and  Committees,  but  these  are  far  from 
embracing  the  Church's  gifts  to  these  causes.  Thus  the  Board  of 
Education  receives  a  small  part  of  what  is  generously  bestowed  upon 
this  important  work.  This  may  be  seen  from  a  comparison  of  the 
Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  with  the  published  statements  of 
the  Board.  The  latter  reports  for  the  last  three  years.  a  total  of 


APPENDIX.  497 

$123,507;  the  former  sets  forth  $815,720,  as  given  in  this  time  for 
this  object.  A  great  disparity  is  also  seen  in  Church  Extension 
and  some  of  the  other  causes,  but  even  these  columns  in  the  "  Min 
utes"  fail  to  exhibit  the  majority  of  individual  gifts  and  private  sub 
scriptions  to  various  interests  of  the  Church.  But,  taking  simply  the 
reports  of  the  different  Boards,  etc.,  and  we  have  the  following  facts 
and  figures : 

DOMESTIC   MISSIONS. 

This  Board  has  received,  from  1838  to  1870,  $2,548,965.  It  is 
impossible  to  tell  the  number  of  missionaries  who  have  been  aided 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  the  number  of 
churches  brought  into  existence,  sustained  and  made  self-supporting 
by  its  gifts,  and  the  number  that  but  for  its  steady  aid  would  have 
died. 

EDUCATION. 

This  Board,  for  the  various  departments  aided  by  it,  has  received, 
from  1838  to  1870,  $1,357,335,  and  has  assisted  in  this  time  2,761 
candidates  for  the  ministry,  as  well  a.s  extended  help  to  schools  and 
colleges. 

THE   BOARD   OF   PUBLICATION, 

Leaving  out  of  view  its  large  sales,  and  what  it  has  accomplished  by 
its  sound  literature,  has  received  for  its  colportage  fund,  etc.,  from 
1840  to  1870,  $561,927. 

CHURCH    EXTENSION. 

During  its  eleven  years'  connection  with  the  Board  of  Missions,  it 
aided  382  churches  to  complete  their  buildings  without  debt,  and 
obtained  in  contributions  $68,544.  In  the  fifteen  years  of  its  sep 
arate  existence  it  has  raised  $515,287,  given  help  to  1040  churches, 
and  secured  free  from  debt  property  worth  $3,575,500;  making 
a  total  of  receipts  $583,831,  and  of  churches  assisted  1422. 

THE    DISABLED    MINISTERS*    FUND 

Reports  a  total  of  donations  given  by  the  Church,  from  1849  to  1869, 
32 


498  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

at  $199,788.  The  number  of  ministers,  widows,  and  orphans  relieved 
and  cheered  by  this  fund  cannot  be  given,  but  the  numbers  reported 
each  year  make  in  the  aggregate  422  ministers,  586  widows,  and  62 
families  of  orphans.  The  number  assisted  for  1870  is  64  ministers, 
91  widows,  and  13  families  of  orphans.  The  receipts  for  the  past  year 
were  $36,774.  The  total  of  the  Permanent  Fund  is  $41,442. 

THE  FREEDMEN'S  COMMITTEE 

Has  received  from  the  churches,  during  its  five  working  years, 
$135,264,  has  organized  75  churches,  has  76  schools,  and  57  build 
ings  for  church  purposes.  In  its  churches  are  gathered  5,264  commu 
nicants,  and  in  its  schools  5,220  pupils. 

FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 

In  1831  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  was  organized 
at  Pittsburg,  Pa.  This  society  received  till  1837,  from  churches 
and  individuals,  $92,362  ;  then  it  was  transferred  to  the  General  As 
sembly,  as  has  been  already  stated.  From  1838  to  1870  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  has  received  from  all  sources  $5,296,365  ;  but 
omitting  what  it  has  acknowledged  from  Government  school  funds 
for  the  Indians,  Bible  and  Tract  Societies,  etc.,  the  amount  from  the 
Church,  including  legacies,  is  $4,379,879. 

The  following  were  transferred  to  the  Board  by  the  Western  For 
eign  Missionary  Society:  3  missions,  7  stations,  u  missionaries,  6 
male  and  27  female  assistant  missionaries;  in  1870  the  Board  has  21 
missions,  67  stations  and  sub-stations,  84  foreign  missionaries,  15 
ordained  native  ministers,  8  licentiates,  a  large  number  of  candidates, 
8  foreign  male  and  87  female  assistant  missionaries,  199  native  assis 
tants,  12  presbyteries,  54  organized  churches,  with  a  membership  as 
far  as  reported  of  2,047.  In  the  different  schools,  day  and  boarding, 
are  7,465  children  and  adults.  The  receipts  of  the  past  year  have 
been  $271,940.  Besides  these  results,  the  property  of  the  Board  in 
New  York,  and  the  property  reared  and  gathered  for  missionary  pur 
poses  in  different  lands,  would  cost  to-day,  to  obtain  them,  at  least 
$350,000. 

The  vast  sums  contributed  for  theological  seminaries  and  colleges 


APPENDIX.  499 

in  the  past  thirty  years,  and  the  influence  of  these  upon  the  growth 
and  efficiency  of  our  Zion,  cannot  be  estimated.  Never  in  its  his 
tory  were  there  such  noble  gifts  and  such  Christian  givers  as  are  now 
within  its  pale,  but  never  had  our  branch  such  large  resources  to 
consecrate  to  the  cause  of  Christ  and  humanity.  In  1858,  when  the 
membership  of  our  body  was  almost  the  same  as  in  1869,  the  aggre 
gate  of  all  its  reported  contributions  for  benevolent  and  congrega 
tional  purposes  was  $2,544,692  ;  but  the  whole  amount  in  1869  was 
$4,526,281,  showing  a  vast  difference  in  these  two  periods  and  in 
favor  of  the  present. 

The  total  number  of  books  and  tracts  issued  by  the  Board  of  Pub 
lication  from  its  organization  to  1870  is  15,132,788.  Last  year 
1,765,000  copies  of  the  "Sabbath-school  Visitor"  (a  semi-monthly), 
and  175,00  copies  of  the  "Record,"  were  printed.  Within  the 
same  time  42,500  copies  of  the  pamphlet  "  Foreign  Missionary,"  and 
about  720,000  copies  of  the  children's  "Foreign  Missionary,"  were 
issued. 

A  church  thus  organized  and  equipped,  possessing  such  life  and 
zeal,  guided  throughout  its  various  departments  by  like  faith  and 
principles,  animated  with  the  same,  spirit,  and  seeking  the  same  end, 
is  capable  of  still  greater  achievements ;  as  these  facts  show,  it  has 
been  steadily  putting  forth  new  life  and  power,  and  never  was  it  so 
capable  of  doing  great  things  for  God  as  at  the  present  time.  If 
figures  are  in  themselves  dry  and  bald,  still,  as  in  the  case  before  us, 
they  are  expressive  of  things  done,  and  if  rightly  viewed  they  contain 
the  seeds  of  events  that  are  yet  to  be  developed.  The  "  spolia 
opima  "  for  God  and  eternity  are  to  be  gathered.  May  some  future 
statistician  show  by  facts  and  figures  the  wonderful  impulse  given  to 
our  church  life,  benevolence,  and  deeds  from  the  year  1870. 


500 


PEESBYTERIAN   SEDITION. 


II. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  CHURCH  (NEW  SCHOOL  BRANCH) 
SINCE  1837.     BY  THE  REV.  EDWIN  F.  HATFIELD,  D.D. 

THE  history  of  the  New  School  branch  of  the  Church,  during  the 
period  of  the  disruption,  has  been  so  well  and  fully  written  and  put 
on  record  in  another  portion  of  this  volume,  that  very  little  remains 
to  be  stated.  A  few  brief  statistics  will  complete  the  picture. 

When  the  disruption  became  an  accomplished  fact  in  1838,  it 
found  this  portion  of  the  denomination  utterly  unprepared  for  a  sep 
arate  existence.  Such  a  result  they  had  not  contemplated.  They 
opposed  the  excision  of  1837,  and  sought  to  maintain  the  integrity 
of  the  body.  They  clung  to  the  hope  to  the  very  last,  relinquishing 
it  only  when  the  breach  appeared  to  be  irreparable.  Consequently, 
they  were  compelled  to  enter  upon  their  distinct  course,  without 
records,  without  funds,  without  any  organized  agencies  to  carry  for 
ward  their  operations  (save  such  as  were  furnished  by  co-operative 
associations),  and  even  without  any  well-defined  plans  for  the  future. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  was  found  impossible  to  publish,  in  con 
nection  with  the  Minutes  of  1838,  any  detailed  statements  of  the 
condition  of  this  branch,  thus  rudely  broken  off  from  the  parent  tree. 
The  Statistical  Reports  of  the  Presbyteries  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
other  branch,  and  were  published  in  connection  with  the  Minutes  of 
their  proceedings. 

The  first  tabular  statement  of  the  denomination  called  "  the  New 
School,"  appeared  in  1839,  m  connection  with  the  published  Minutes 
of  the  Assembly  of  that  year.  Excluding  the  baptisms  and  funds, 
the  following  figures,  taken  from  the  "Summary  View"  of  the  Statis 
tical  Reports,  give  some  idea  of  the  composition  of  the  body  at  that 
date  : 


a 

H 

u 

I 

3 
p 

H 

P 

H 

Q 

Id 

X 

COMMUNICANTS. 

a 

8 

1 

Z 

8 

z 

X 

PH 

s 

J 

O 

CJ 

8s 

1,181 

105 

43 

1,286 

100,850 

APPENDIX. 


501 


These  figures,  however,  are  not  reliable.  On  examining  the  roll, 
it  is  found  that  ten  Presbyteries  are  included  improperly,  and  must  be 
deducted.  The  table  thus  corrected  would  be  as  follows  : 


H 

«i 

| 

BQ 

M 

I 

c/) 

' 

Z 

g 
P 

W 
1 

COMMUNICANTS. 

a 

M 

Z 

8 

z 

O 

PH 

ff, 

13 

U 

U 

75 

',093 

95 

43 

1,260 

97,033 

A  reference  to  the  Statistical  Reports  themselves  shows  that  the 
returns  from  the  churches  were  very  imperfect.  A  large  number  of 
them  failed  entirely  to  report  the  number  of  communicants ;  so  that 
the  whole  number  of  church  members  was  much  greater  than  here 
appears,  probably  by  one-tenth  at  the  least.  This  would  show  a  total 
of  106,736  communicants,  which  probably  is  a  near  approximation 
to  the  true  state  of  the  case. 

The  number  of  the  Synods  can  be  gathered  only  from  the  roll  of 
that  year.  It  thus  appears  that  seventeen  Synods  were  represented, 
in  two  cases  by  only  a  single  Presbytery,  the  remaining  presbyteries 
adhering  to  the  other  branch ;  so  that  but  fifteen  Synods  are  to  be 
reckoned  as  attached  to  the  New  School  branch  at  the  disruption. 

The  progress  of  the  body  may  properly  be  measured  at  equal  in 
tervals  of  ten  years,  covering  a  period  of  thirty  years  to  the  Reunion. 
In  1849  the  following  summary  view  was  given  : 


jjj 

U 
U 

H 

H 

Ifl 

Q 
O 
Z 

i 

s 

M 

P 

i 

z 

P 

a 

u 

Q 
Q 

u 

a 
•    x 

COMMUNICANTS. 

t/5 

PH 

s 

HJ 

U 

20 

104 

1,453 

130 

58 

.,555 

139,047 

This  was  the  period  of  Triennial  Assemblies,  and  many  circum 
stances  conspired  to  retard  the  growth  of  the  body  during  the  whole 
decade,  as  has  already  appeared  in  the  Narrative  History ;  yet  the 
growth  was  very  gratifying. 


502 


PKESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 


At  the  expiration  of  another  period  of  the  same  number  of  years, 
the  Minutes  of  1859  exhibit  the  following  tabular  statement : 


u 

i 

<n 

H 

h 

H 

H 

in 

o 
z: 

f- 

s 
S 

I 
2 

h 
2 

U 

O 

5 

2 

a 
u 

M 

b 

COMMUNICANTS. 

t/5 

S 

S 

>J 

U 

U 

23 

108 

1,545 

134 

370 

1,542 

137,990 

The  progress  of  the  body  would  appear  from  this  statement  to 
have  been  slower  than  in  the  previous  decade.  But  it  is  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  in  the  year  1858  the  Southern  Synods,  in  their  zeal  for 
the  conservation  of  the  system  of  slavery,  and  in  obedience  to  the 
behests  of  the  slaveholding  aristocracy  of  that  portion  of  the  country, 
separated  from  their  brethren  at  the  North,  and  walked  no  more  with 
them.  The  returns  from  the  Synod  of  Virginia  for  a  previous  year 
are  included  in  the  summary  of  1859.  The  other  Synods  had  been 
dropped  from  the  roll.  Had  these  Synods  also  been  reported  in  1859, 
the  footings  would  have  been  as  follows  : 


U 

M 

W 

W 

U 

§ 

1 

a 

M 

U 

h 

P 

a 

u 

COMMUNICANTS. 

2 

u 

2 

2 

D 

C/) 

£ 

* 

^ 

U 

U 

27 

122 

1,641 

I36 

388 

1,721 

147,664 

Comparing  this  statement  with  that  of  1849,  it  is  seen  that  the 
denomination,  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  and  discouragements 
with  which  it  had  to  contend,  elsewhere  circumstantially  and  truth 
fully  related,  had  made  considerable  progress,  and  had  fully  vindicated 
its  claims  to  an  honorable  recognition  among  the  ecclesiastical  powers 
of  the  land. 

Another  period  of  ten  years  covers  the  remainder  of  the  separate 
history  of  the  two  branches.  The  summary  for  1869  exhibits  the 
following  results  : 


APPENDIX. 


503 


Id 

3 

in 

N 

a 

Q 

o 

a 

E 

< 
h 

I 

3 

i 

u 
8 

COMMUNICANTS. 

2 

i 

2 

u 

2 

3 

3 

W 

PH 

§ 

^ 

U 

O 

24 

"3 

1,848 

116 

3°3 

1,631 

172,560 

This  last  decade  shows  but  a  small  growth  in  the  number  of  Synods 
and  Presbyteries,  the  tendency  being  not  to  an  enlargement  of  their 
number,  but  to  an  increase  of  their  strength.  The  number  of  licen 
tiates  and  candidates,  owing  probably  to  the  absorption  of  such  a 
vast  host  of  young  men  by  the  army  and  navy  during  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion,  had  actually  decreased.  But  a  large  addition  had  been 
made  to  the  ministry,  the  churches,  and  the  communicants.  The 
Reunion  finds  this  part  of  the  Church  in  a  most  healthy,  thriving 
condition. 

In  respect  to  funds  for  the  promotion  of  the  great  schemes  of  the 
Church  and  for  the  support  of  public  worship,  it  is  not  possible  to 
give  any  tabular  statements  with  any  sort  of  accuracy.  This  part  of 
the  Church,  it  is  well  known,  was  distinguished  for  its  adherence  to 
the  co-operative  system  of  benevolent  action.  It  is  but  recently  that 
it  has  established  boards  of  its  own,  and  withdrawn  from  the  volun 
tary  societies  in  part.  With  the  exception  of  the  funds  for  the  As 
sembly,  no  reports  were  rendered  by  the  presbyteries  of  the  sums 
contributed  by  the  churches,  either  for  their  own  support  or  for  pur 
poses  of  benevolence,  until  the  year  1853,  at  which  time  the  denom 
inational  spirit  began  to  be  more  fully  developed.  The  returns  of 
funds  contributed  for  that  year  were  as  follows  : 


ASSEMBLY. 

HOME  MISSIONS. 

FOR.  MISSIONS. 

EDUCATION. 

PUBLICATION. 

$3,990  40 

$62,038  38 

$531*43  25 

$28,922  88 

$34,535  39 

These  returns  included,  under  each  separate  head,  all  that  was 
given  in  every  direction  in  that  particular  line.  Latterly  they  have 
been  principally  restricted  to  what  was  given  to  the  boards  and  com 
mittees  of  the  Church,  while  gifts  to  outside  associations  and  objects 


504 


PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 


have  been  mostly  included  under  a  miscellaneous  head.  Several  new 
columns  have  been  introduced,  and  among  them  one  exhibiting  the 
sums  expended  for  congregational  purposes  —  the  sums  expended  on 
themselves  by  each  congregation.  The  returns  for  1869  are  as  fol 
lows  : 


J 

z 

E/l 

D 

2 

O 

feb 

o 

§ 

V) 

2 

z 

Q 

h 

P 

X 

H 

9 
O 

a, 
o 

o 
h 

u 
a 

Q 

h 

y 

13 
• 

a 

o 

u 

W 
X 

U 

Pi 

z 

u 

a 

H 

u 
9 

1 

o 
u 

M 

U 

z 

< 

B 

>M 

t, 

W 

PH 

U 

•* 

£ 

"^ 

u 

A 

•MM* 

§116,364 

§29,492 

§14,491 

§43.013 

§18,966 

§12,594 

§12,998 

§2,866,940 

§363,298 

The  sum  total,  thus  reported  as  contributed  by  the  churches  within 
the  year  preceding  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  of  1869  —  the  last 
year  of  the  separate  existence  of  the  two  branches  —  is  $3,620,533. 

As  the  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  denominational 
spirit  is  elsewhere  so  fully  given,  it  is  not  deemed  necessary  to  go 
more  fully  into  the  details  of  the  sums  given  from  year  to  year,  espe 
cially  as  the  returns  from  the  presbyteries  have,  until  recently,  been 
quite  defective  in  these  respects.  Enough  is  here  given  to  show, 
that,  at  the  time  of  the  Reunion,  this  branch  of  the  Church  had  at 
tained  to  a  most  commendable  development  of  its  energies  and 
resources,  in  the  extension  and  building  up  of  the  Redeemer's  king 
dom  on  the  earth. 


III. 


BRIEF  SKETCHES  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  "RE 
UNION  COMMITTEE."  BY  THE  REV.  JAMES  H.  M.  KNOX, 
D.D. 

THE  gratitude  of  the  Church  will  ever  render  illustrious  the  names  of  the  Re 
union  Committee  of  1866.  The  work  they  performed  in  bringing  together  the 
two  branches  of  the  now  United  Church  is  fitly  commemorated  in  the  fifth  chapter 
of  this  volume.  It  is  the  object  of  these  sketches  to  furnish  simply  the  outlines  of 
their  biography.  Their  names  are  given  on  page  254. 


APPENDIX.  505 

THE  REV.  JOHN  M.  KREBS,  D.D.,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 
For  incidents  of  his  life  see  Biographical  Sketches,  etc.,  page  178. 

THE  REV.  CHARLES  C.  BEATTY,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  STEUBENVILLE,  OHIO. 

CHARLES  CLINTON  BEATTY,  son  of  Col.  Erkuries  Beatty,  was  born  near 
Princeton,  N.  J. ,  in  the  year  1800.  His  father  was  an  officer  in  the  army  of  the 
Revolution.  His  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Charles  Beatty,  was  an  eminent  minister 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  was  educated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  at 
Princeton,  and  in  the  Theological  Seminary  in  the  same  place.  He  was  licensed 
to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  in  January,  1822,  and 
on  October  ist  of  the  same  year  was  ordained  as  an  evangelist,  with  a  view  to 
missionary  labor  in  the  West.  Having  spent  seven  months  in  the  States  of  In 
diana  and  Illinois,  he  received  a  call  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Steuben- 
ville,  Ohio,  May,  1823.  He  was  installed  pastor  in  October,  1823.  In  this 
charge  he  continued  until  the  spring  of  1837,  when  his  health  having  failed,  the 
church  reluctantly  accepted  his  resignation.  Shortly  after,  his  health  having  im 
proved,  he  commenced  the  enterprise  of  a  second  church  in  Steubenville.  A 
church  edifice  was  erected  and  a  church  organized  in  1838.  Here  he  ministered 
at  first  as  partial  supply,  and  then  as  pastor  until  the  summer  of  1847.  He  has 
since  acted  as  minister-at-large  among  the  churches  of  the  Presbytery  and  its 
neighborhood.  The  honorary  degree  of  S.T.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
Washington  College,  at  Washington,  Pa.,  in  1840,  and  in  1861  the  same  institu 
tion  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  At  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Assembly  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  in  May,  1862,  he  was  elected  Moderator.  He  has 
been  a  director  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  from  its  organization  ;  and 
for  the  past  eight  years  he  has  lectured  in  the  same  Institution.  Dr.  Beatty 
has  been  the  recipient  of  numerous  appointments  from  the  General  Assembly.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  the  Revision  of  the  Book  of  Discipline,  ap 
pointed  in  1857,  and  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Board  of  Publication,  ap 
pointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1862,  and  which  made  its  report  at  Peoria 
in  1863.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  on  the  Committee  on  the  Reunion  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  in  1869  the  General  Assembly,  at  its  adjourned  meeting 
in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  appointed  him  on  the  Committee  on  the  Reconstruction  of  the 
Church.  In  1829,  in  co-operation  with  his  wife,  Dr.  Beatty  commenced  the 
Female  Seminary  at  Steubenville,  Ohio,  which  has  ever  since  been  under  his 
superintendence. 

In  the  Presbyterian  Church  no  man  is  held  in  greater  veneration  and  love  than 
Dr.  Charles  C.  Beatty.  His  life  has  been  a  pre-eminently  useful  one.  In  every  good 
work  he  has  been  forward.  Washington  College  and  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Allegheny  City  have  partaken  very  largely  of  his  cares,  toils,  prayers,  and  bene 
factions.  To  each  of  these  institutions  he  has  given  $50,000,  having  very  lately 
endowed  the  Chair  of  Theology  at  the  Seminary  at  Allegheny  with  the  munificent 
sum  of  $35,000,  in  addition  to  $15,000  that  he  had  previously  bestowed  upon  the 
Institution.  In  the  work  of  Reunion  Dr.  Beatty  has  been  engaged  with  all  the 


506  PBESBYTEEIAN   EEHNTON. 

ardor  of  his  nature,  and  he  rejoices  over  nothing  so  much  as  that  he  has  been 
spared  in  the  good  providence  of  God  to  see  the  work  for  which  he  labored  so 
earnestly  consummated  so  grandly. 

THE  REV.  J.  TRUMBULL  BACKUS,  D.D.,  SCHENECTADY,  N.  Y. 

J.  TRUMBULL  BACKUS,  son  of  E.  F.  Backus,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  January  27,  1809.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Albany  Academy, 
and  graduated  at  Columbia  College,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1827.  He  re 
ceived  from  that  Institution  the  degree  of  A.M.  in  1830.  He  pursued  his  the 
ological  studies  at  Princeton  from  1827  to  1830,  at  Andover  from  1830 
to  1831,  and  at  New  Haven  during  the  last  half  of  the  year  1832.  He 
was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  in  1830. 
He  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Albany,  in  December,  1832.  He  is 
still  pastor  of  that  church.  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  S.T.D.  from 
Union  College  in  1847.  He  has  been  a  member  of  seven  General  Assemblies,  and 
has  served  the  Church  on  many  important  Committees.  He  was  one  of  the  Com 
mittee  that  prepared  the  Hymnal.  He  was  unanimously  elected  Moderator  of 
the  First  Reunited  Assembly  of  1870.  In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  this  high 
office  he  gained  the  commendation  of  all  his  brethren,  for  the  impartiality,  suavity, 
and  dignity  with  which  he  presided  over  the  deliberations  of  the  Assembly. 

THE  REV.  PHINEAS  D.  GURLEY,  D.D.,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
See  Biographical  Sketches,  etc.,  page  188. 

THE  REV.  JOSEPH  G.  MONFORT,  D.D.,  CINCINNATI,  OHIO. 

JOSEPH  GLASS  MONFORT,  son  of  Rev.  Francis  and  Sophia  (Glass)  Monfort, 
was  born  in  Warren  County,  Ohio,  December  9,  1810.  His  father,  who  was  for 
many  years  pastor  of  Hamilton,  Ohio,  and  Mount  Carmel,  Ind. ,  was  of  Hugue 
not  ancestry,  and  himself  was  born  in  Adams  County,  Pa.  Dr.  Monfort  grad 
uated  in  Miami  University,  Oxford,  Ohio,  in  1834.  He  pursued  his  theological 
studies  in  1835  and  1836,  in  Indiana  Theological  Seminary,  at  Hanover,  Indiana. 
In  1836  and  1837,  he,  in  connection  with  Dr.  W.  L.  Breckinridge,  established  and 
edited  the  "  Presbyterian  Herald  "  at  Louisville,  Ky.  He  was  licensed  to  preach 
in  September,  1837,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Oxford.  He  preached  six  months  in 
Hamilton,  Ohio,  from  the  date  of  his  father's  resignation  of  that  charge.  He 
received  and  accepted  a  call  from  Greensburg,  Ind.,  in  1838,  and  was  ordained 
and  installed  pastor  of  the  churches  of  Greensburg  and  Sand  Creek  by  the  Pres 
bytery  of  Indianapolis,  in  April,  1839.  The  church  of  Greensburg  divided  a 
few  weeks  before  his  call,  soon  after  the  Assembly  of  1838.  He  resigned  his 
charge  in  October,  1842,  on  account  of  the  division.  In  two  years  after  he  was 
agent  for  the  Theological  Seminary  at  New  Albany,  Ind.  In  October,  1844,  he 
was  recalled  to  Greensburg,  both  divisions  of  the  congregation  uniting  in  the  in- 


APPENDIX.  507 

vitation.  This  call  he  accepted,  and  remained  pastor  at  Greensburg  until  Jan 
uary,  1855,  when  he  was  invited  by  the  vote  of  the  Synod  of  Indiana,  and  by  a 
circular  letter  signed  by  a  large  majority  of  the  Synods  of  Northern  Indiana,  Cin 
cinnati,  and  Ohio,  through  the  agency  of  Rev.  Drs.  E.  D.  MacMaster,  J.  E. 
Thomas,  and  J.  M.  Stevenson,  to  become  the  editor  of  the  "  Presbyterian  of  the 
West,"  Cincinnati,  from  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  N.  L.  Rice  had  recently  retired. 
He  has  since  conducted  this  paper,  first  changing  its  name  to  "The  Presbyter," 
and  in  October,  1869,  uniting  with  the  New  School  paper  at  Cincinnati,  under 
the  name  "Herald  and  Presbyter."  He  was  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Presbytery 
of  White  Water  from  its  erection  until  his  removal  to  Cincinnati. 

He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  S.T.D.  from  Centre  College,  Kentucky,  in 
1853.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Church  Extension  Commit 
tee  and  of  the  Boards  of  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions,  and  a  Trustee  of  Han 
over  College,  Indiana.  For  several  years  he  was  a  Director  of  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Northwest,  and  he  is  now  a  Trustee  of  Lane  Theological  Sem 
inary,  at  Walnut  Hills,  Cincinnati. 

For  ten  years  Dr.  Monfort  has  been  an  earnest  advocate  in  his  paper  of  the 
reunion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  was  the  author  of  the  Newark  paper  on 
Reunion,  which  was  signed  by  seventy  ministers  and  forty  Ruling  Elders  in  at 
tendance  upon  the  General  Assembly  in  1864.  He  was  the  founder  and  editor  of 
the  "  Reunion  Presbyterian,"  in  1865.  He  was  the  author  of  the  paper  adopted 
by  the  General  Assembly  of  1866,  proposing  negotiations  for  reunion.  He  was 
appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1866  a  member  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Reunion.  He  was  the  author  and  mover  of  the  supplementary  action  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  in  Albany  in  1868,  proposing  to  the  other  Assembly  a  change  of 
the  Basis,  so  as  to  make  its  doctrinal  theories  the  standards  pure  and  simple.  He 
was  the  author  of  an  article  in  the  "American  and  Presbyterian  Review"  which 
was  sent  to  all  the  ministers  of  both  Churches,  proposing  union  upon  the  stand 
ards  alone  as  the  proper  basis. 

THE  REV.  WILLIAM  D.  HOWARD,  D.D.,  ALLEGHENY  CITY,  PA. 

WILLIAM  D.  HOWARD,  the  son  of  Caleb  and  Julia  (McCartee)  Howard,  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  on  July  28,  1814.  His  father  was  a  native  of  New  England 
and  his  mother  of  Pennsylvania.  Her  ancestors  belonged  to  the  Society  of 
Friends.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  a  member  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Philadelphia,  then  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Sanford. 
In  the  following  year  he  began  his  studies  with  a  view  to  the  ministry,  in  the  Man 
ual  Latin  Academy  at  Germantown,  Pa.  When  this  Institution  was  merged  into 
La  Fayette  College  at  Easton,  he  removed  to  that  place  and  continued  his  studies 
there.  In  1833  he  returned  to  Germantown,  and  pursued  theological  studies 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Neill.  He  was  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  in  October,  1837  ;  and  on  March 
13,  1838,  he  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 


508  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUJSTION. 

Frankford,  Pa.  His  ministry  in  Frankford  was  a  highly  successful  one.  In 
1849  he  received  a  call  from  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburg. 
This  call  he  accepted,  and  was  installed  pastor  of  the  church  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Ohio,  on  May  i6th,  1849.  With  this  church  he  still  remains.  Under  his  min 
istry  it  has  greatly  prospered,  and  increased  largely  in  numbers,  liberality,  and  effi 
ciency.  He  received  the  degree  of  S.T.D.,  in  1853,  from  Washington  College, 
Pa. 

For  several  years  Dr.  Howard  was  a  Trustee  of  Washington  College.  He  is 
now,  as  he  has  been  for  a  number  of  years,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  located  in  Pittsburg.  In  1849  he 
was  elected  a  Director  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Allegheny  City, 
and  this  position  he  still  holds.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Boards  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Since 
the  organization  of  the  General  Assembly's  Committee  on  Freedmen,  Dr.  Howard 
has  been  a  member  of  it,  and  was  for  the  first  year  its  Chairman.  This  place  he 
resigned,  under  the  impression  that  he  would  leave  Pittsburg  for  Cincinnati.  In 
1857  he  preached  a  sermon  before  the  General  Assembly  at  Lexington,  Ky. ,  by 
appointment  of  the  previous  Assembly,  in  behalf  of  Domestic  Missions.  This 
discourse  was  afterwards  published  by  the  Board.  Dr.  Howard  is  the  author  of 
many  sermons  published  by  request.  A  number  of  these  were  preached  before 
the  Synod  of  Pittsburg,  the  others  were  delivered  on  various  special  occasions  — 
as  installations,  in  commemoration  of  deceased  friends  in  the  ministry,  etc. 

Dr.  Howard  remains  in  Pittsburg,  though  he  has  repeatedly  been  solicited  to 
leave  for  charges  in  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  In  1866  he  had  a 
most  urgent  call  to  the  First  Church  of  Cincinnati,  which  he  thought  it  his  duty 
to  accept,  but  the  Presbytery,  in  response  to  the  earnest  desires  of  the  church  of 
Pittsburg,  unanimously  declined  to  dissolve  the  relations  between  Dr.  Howard  and 
them,  and  the  result  has  proven  that  the  decision  was  a  wise  one  ;  for  few  things 
are  better  known  than  that  no  man  is  more  beloved  than  is  this  pastor,  or  more 
abundantly  useful 

THE  REV.  WILLIAM  E.  SCHENCK,  D.D.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

WILLIAM  EDWARD  SCHENCK,  the  son  of  John  C.  and  Ann  B.  (Hutchinson) 
Schenck,  was  born  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  March  29,  1819.  His  ancestors 
came  to  this  country  from  Holland  about  the  year  1730.  They  first  settled  at 
Flatlands,  L.  I.,  but  soon  removed  to  Pleasant  Valley,  Monmouth  County,  N.J., 
where  Garrett  Schenck,  at  that  time  the  head  of  the  family,  had  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land.  Garrett  Schenck  was  a  Ruling  Elder  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church, 
and  through  his  exertions  mainly  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Holmdel  was 
founded.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Legislature.  One  of  his 
descendants,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  notice,  removed  to  the  vicinity 
of  Princeton,  and  purchased  a  large  farm  there.  The  ancestors  of  Dr.  Schenck  for 
seven  generations  were  pious  persons,  and  members,  several  of  them  ruling  elders, 


APPENDIX.  509 

of  the  Church.  He  received  his  education  at  Princeton,  at  the  academy  of  the 
Rev.  Robert  Baird,  D.D.,  at  Edge  Hill,  then  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Robert 
Patton,  D.D.,  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  entering  the  Freshman  class  in  1834, 
and  graduating  in  1838.  On  graduating  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  law, 
which  he  pursued  for  more  than  a  year  under  the  care  of  James  S.  Green,  Esq., 
of  Princeton.  Before  the  end  of  this  time  his  religious  views  underwent  a  change, 
and  he  united  with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Princeton,  of  which  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  H.  Rice,  D.  D.,  was  pastor.  He  soon  after  decided  to  study  for  the 
ministry,  and  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  from  which  institu 
tion  he  graduated  in  1842.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  Presby 
tery  of  New  Brunswick,  April  27,  1842.  By  the  advice  of  the  Rev.  Archibald  Al 
exander,  and  the  Rev.  Richard  Webster,  of  Mauch  Chunk,  Pa. ,  he  devoted  the  sum 
mer  after  he  had  received  license  to  missionary  work  among  the  coal-mining  popula 
tion  of  Schuylkill  County,  Pa.  Returning  to  Princeton,  he  was  called  to  be  the  pas 
tor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Manchester,  Monmouth  County,  N.  J.  This  call 
he  accepted,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
February  28,  1843.  In  1845  ne  was  invited  to  undertake  a  new  church  enter 
prise  in  the  city  of  New  York.  This  invitation  he  accepted,  and  the  Hammond 
Street  Church  was  organized,  in  which  his  labors  were  largely  blessed.  In  the 
midst  of  his  labors  in  New  York,  in  the  beginning  of  1848,  he  received  an  earnest 
call  to  become  the  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Princeton,  N.  J. 
In  this  call  all  the  Professors  of  the  College  and  of  the  Theological  Seminary 
warmly  united.  He  was  installed  at  Princeton,  May  7,  1848.  During  his  pas 
torate  there  the  church  received  numerous  accessions,  especially  in  1850,  in  which 
a  powerful  revival  occurred,  which  added  to  the  church  more  than  eighty  persons. 
While  Dr.  Schenck  was  settled  at  Princeton,  those  eminent  and  venerable  men, 
Dr.  Samuel  Miller  and  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  died,  and  he  was  called  to  at 
tend  upon  them  in  their  last  hours  upon  the  earth.  In  April,  1852,  Mr.  Schenck 
was  induced  to  leave  Princeton  to  accept  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Church 
Extension  in  Philadelphia.  This  office  he  held  for  two  years,  when  he  was  elected 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Publication,  and  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  that  office  November  i,  1854.  In  this  position  he  has  now  served  the  Church 
with  faithfulness  and  ability  for  nearly  sixteen  years.  He  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  S.  T.  D.  from  Jefferson  College  in  the  yeaf  1859. 
In  1862  the  General  Assembly  elected  him  Permanent  Clerk. 

THE  REV.  VILLEROY  D.  REED,  D.D.,  CAMDEN,  N.  J. 

VILLEROY  D.  REED,  the  son  of  Kitchel  and  Sallie  (Dibble)  Reed,  was  born  in 
Granville,  Washington  County,  N.  Y.,  April  27,  1815.  His  paternal  ancestor 
was  John  Reed,  an  officer  in  Cromwell's  army,  who,  after  the  Restoration  in 
England,  fled  to  this  country  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Norwalk,  Conn.  From 
this  place  his  grandfather,  after  the  Revolutionary  war,  removed  to  Northern  New 
York,  then  a  wilderness.  When  he  was  five  years  of  age  his  father  removed  to 


510  PKESBYTERIAN   EEUKEOIST. 

Lansingburg,  N.  Y. ,  where  he  was  brought  up.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  re 
ceived  into  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lansingburg,  then  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Blatchford,  D.D.  From  this  time  he  was  very  anxious 
to  prepare  for  the  ministry,  but  many  difficulties  were  in  his  way,  because  of  the 
straitened  pecuniary  circumstances  of  his  father.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  taught  a 
district  school  to  secure  funds  for  college  ;  and  from  that  time  till  he  was  licensed 
to  preach  he  taught  more  or  less  every  year.  In  September,  1832,  he  entered 
the  Junior  Class  of  Union  College,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. ,  and  though  compelled  to 
labor  in  various  ways  to  procure  the  means  to  meet  his  expenses  (for  he  never 
obtained  any  assistance  from  the  Church),  he  graduated  in  1835  with  his  class,  and 
with  as  high  a  grade  of  scholarship  as  any  other  member.  He  was  tutor  in  Union 
College  for  one  year.  For  more  than  a  year  he  taught  an  academy  in  Waterford, 
N.  Y.  While  thus  engaged  he  studied  Hebrew  with  Professor  Taylor  Lewis,  of 
Union  College,  and  Theology  as  he  best  could.  He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Troy  (O.  S. ),  in  the  Synod  of  Albany,  August  29,  1838.  After  his  licensure  he 
entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J. ,  and  graduated  in  1839. 
He  accepted  a  call  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Stillwater,  N.  Y.,  and  was 
ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  church  by  the  Presbytery  of  Albany,  Decem 
ber  18,  1839.  Here  he  remained,  with  many  tokens  of  the  Divine  favor  upon  his 
ministry,  till  the  spring  of  1844,  when  he  received  and  accepted  a  call  from  the 
church  of  his  youth,  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lansingburg,  over  which  he 
was  installed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Troy,  July  9,  1844.  He  continued  in  Lansing 
burg  fourteen  years,  during  which  the  church  greatly  prospered.  In  the  autumn 
of  1857  the  Synod  of  Iowa  elected  him  President  of  Alexander  College,  estab 
lished  at  Dubuque,  Iowa.  This  invitation  he  accepted  after  six  months'  delibera 
tion,  being  strongly  urged  thereto  by  the  Rev.  Drs.  Van  Rennsalaer  and  Chester, 
at  that  time  the  Secretaries  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Against  the  remonstrances  of  his  church,  the  Presbytery,  with  whom  the 
decision  was  left,  decided  that  it  was  his  duty  to  go ;  and  accordingly  he  left  his 
pleasant  home  and  strongly  attached  people,  to  devote,  as  he  thought,  the  remain 
ing  years  of  his  life  to  educational  and  missionary  labors  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
The  times,  however,  were  not  propitious.  The  college  suffered  in  the  financial 
tornado  which  soon  swept  over  the  country,  and  it  became  evident  that  its  opera 
tions  must  cease,  for  a  time  at  least.  In  this  crisis  Mr.  Reed  was  invited  to 
preach  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  as  supply  for  six  months  of  the  church  of  which  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  C.  Lord  was,  as  he  is  still,  the  pastor,  and  afterwards  in  organiz 
ing  and  preaching  to  Calvary  Church  in  connection  with  the  effort  of  Mr.  George 
Palmer,  who  soon  after  built  the  elegant  edifice  on  Delaware  avenue  (now  the 
pastoral  charge  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  McLean),  and  presented  it  to  the  Church. 
While  at  Buffalo,  it  became  evident  that  the  college  enterprise  must  be  aban 
doned,  and  Dr.  Reed  accepted  a  call  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cam- 
den,  N.  J. ,  over  which  he  was  installed  pastor  by  the  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey, 
November  20,  1861,  where  he  still  remains. 

The  honorary  degree  of  S.  T.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Union  College, 


APPE1TOIX.  511 

Schenectady,  July  29,  1858.     Dr.  Reed  has  been  for  some  years  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  and  has  served  upon  its  Executive  Committee. 

THE  REV.  FREDERICK  T.   BROWN,  D.D.,  ST.   PAUL,  MINN. 

FREDERICK  T.  BROWN,  the  son  of  William  and  Eleanor  (Lyons)  Brown, 
was  born  in  West  Carlisle,  Coshocton  County,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  till  six 
months  before  leaving  home  permanently  for  school.  His  father's  father  was  a 
native  of  Germany,  and  was  a  minister  of  some  branch  of  the  German  Church. 
His  father  became  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio, 
early  in  life,  and  later  was  a  ruling  elder.  His  mother  was  from  the  north  of  Ire 
land,  was  connected  with  the  Arbuthnots,  and  had  Huguenot  blood  in  her  veins. 
She  was  an  eminently  godly  woman,  but  always  cheerful  and  pleasant.  His 
parents  were  married  in  St.  Clairsville,  and  there  his  brothers,  Rev.  J.  C.  Brown, 
D.D.,  Colonel  W.  L.  Brown  (killed  at  Bull  Run),  and  Rev.  H.  A.  Brown,  of 
Va.,  were  born.  When  the  family  removed  to  Coshocton  County  the  country 
was  as  wild  as  Colorado  and  Montana  now  are,  and  he  grew  up  familiar  with 
Indians,  hunters,  hunting,  fishing,  and  nature  in  all  its  wildness.  A  good  deal  of 
this  passed  into  him  and  became  part  of  him,  and  is  probably  the  reason  why  he 
has  always  enjoyed  most  a  Western  and  frontier  life.  He  was  sent  to  the  prepara 
tory  school  of  Jefferson  College,  at  Canonsburg,  Pa.,  in  1840.  There  he  remained 
two  years  and  a  half,  or  to  the  end  of  the  Freshman  year.  In  the  year  1842  he 
entered  the  Sophomore  class  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton,  N.  J., 
where  he  graduated  in  1845.  ^n  tne  fa^  °f  tne  same  year  he  entered  the  Theologi 
cal  Seminary  at  Princeton,  and  remained  one  seminary  year.  Then,  at  the  request 
of  Dr.  Robert  Baird,  and  under  the  auspices  of  the  Foreign  Evangelical  Society, 
he  went  to  Geneva,  Switzerland,  to  study  there,  if  the  way  were  clear,  to  remain  in 
Europe,  preaching  to  some  French  or  other  church.  After  counselling  freely  with 
Dr.  D'Aubigne,  Malan,  and  others,  he  was  convinced  the  scheme  was  not  practic 
able,  dissolved  his  connection  with  the  Society,  returned  the  money  advanced,  and 
more,  and  remained  to  study  as  he  thought  best.  After  good  part  of  two  sem 
inary  years  there  (and  having  travelled  a  good  deal  on  the  Continent  and  in  Eng 
land)  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  spent  another  term  at  the  Seminary 
at  Princeton.  .  He  was  licensed  and  ordained  as  an  Evangelist  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Logansport,  in  the  Synod  of  Northern  Indiana.  The  spring  and  summer  of 
1847  he  spent  in  Dayton,  O.,  supplying  the  pulpit  of  the  First  Church  during  Dr. 
W.  C.  Anderson's  absence  in  Europe.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  accepted  a 
call  to  the  First  Church  in  Madison,  Ind.  In  the  spring  of  1853  he  went  to 
Cleveland,  O.,  organized  the  Westminster  Church,  and  remained  there  till  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war,  when  he  resigned  to  serve  as  chaplain  in  the  army.  In 
1862  he  was  called  to  the  Bridge  Street  Church,  Georgetown,  D.  C.  Here  he 
remained  three  years,  and  resigned  to  accept  an  urgent  call  to  Chicago,  111.  After 
continuing  in  Chicago  a  short  time,  he  resigned,  and  soon  afterwards  accepted  a 
call  to  the  Central  Church  of  St.  Paul,  of  which  he  has  now  been  pastor  three 


512  PRESBYTERIAN   KEUNION. 

years.     In  1864   he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  S.T.D.,  from  La   Fayette 
College,  at  Easton,  Pa. 

THE  REV.    J.  EDSON   ROCKWELL,  D.D.,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. 

J.  EDSON  ROCKWELL,  the  son  of  Warren  and  Sarah  R.  (Wells)  Rockwell, 
was  born  at  Salisbury,  Vt. ,  May  4,  1816.  His  father's  father,  who  for  nearly 
twenty  years  represented  his  native  town  in  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  and  his 
father  were  both  successively  deacons  in  the  same  church  at  East  Windsor,  and 
were  descended  from  a  pious  ancestry,  who,  as  early  as  1626,  came  from  Yorkshire 
to  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  for  their  attachment  to  the  Puritan  faith.  Warren 
Rockwell  died  at  an  advanced  age  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  1866.  He  was  a  man 
eminent  for  his  intelligent  piety  and  devotedness  to  the  service  of  his  Saviour,  whom 
he  imitated  most  closely,  "  in  going  about  doing  good."  His  son  passed  his  aca 
demical  studies  at  the  Hudson  Academy,  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  to  which  place  his 
father  removed  in  the  spring  of  1817.  In  this  academy  he  was  a  schoolmate 
of  Gen.  H.  W.  Halleck.  He  graduated  at  Amherst  College,  Mass.,  Aug. 
24,  1837,  and  at  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  June  30,  1841.  He  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Columbia,  April  21,  1841,  and  was 
ordained  and  installed,  by  the  same  Presbytery,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Valatie,  N.  Y.,  October  13,  1841.  He  remained  with  this  charge  until  called 
to  the  Hanover  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  Wilmington,  Delaware,  over  which 
he  was  installed,  May  4,  1847.  Nearly  four  years  later,  on  the  I3th  February, 
1851,  he  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church  of  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  then  located  on  Willoughby  street.  Here  Mr.  Rockwell  remained  seventeen 
years.  When  he  entered  upon  his  duties  in  Brooklyn,  the  membership  of  the 
church  was  only  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Under  his  ministry  eight  hundred  were 
added,  of  which  nearly  one-half  was  by  profession  of  their  faith.  In  September, 
1868,  he  removed  from  Brooklyn  to  Stapleton,  S.  I.,  at  the  call  of  the  First  Presby 
terian  Church  of  Edgewater,  to  which  he  still  ministers.  He  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  S.T.D.  from  Jefferson  College,  at  Canonsburg,  Pa.,  in  1859.  Dr. 
Rockwell  has  been  a  constant  contributor  to  the  religious  and  secular  press.  He 
is  the  author  of  several  works,  viz.:  "Sketches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church," 
"Young  Christian  Warned,"  "The  Sheet  Anchor,"  "The  Visitor's  Questions," 
"Scenes  and  Impressions  Abroad,"  and  "Seed  Thoughts."  Besides  these,  he 
has  published  a  number  of  sermons  and  addresses,  delivered  on  special  occasions  ; 
among  which  may  be  mentioned,  "  A  Plea  for  the  Eldership,"  "  Christ  Walking 
on  the  Water,"  "  The  Christian's  Work  and  Rest,"  "  On  the  Death  of  President 
Taylor,"  "  On  the  Death  of  President  Lincoln,"  "  Fruitfulness  in  Old  Age." 

He  has  been  for  some  years  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Publication,  and  at  one 
time  was  the  editor  of  "  The  Sabbath  School  Visitor,"  published  by  the  Board. 
He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  the  Reunion  of  the  Presbyte- 
nan  Church  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1867,  in  the  place  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 


APPENDIX.  513 

Krebs,  who  was  incapacitated  by  the  illness  which  terminated  in  his  lamented 
death. 

THE    REV.    THOMAS    BRAINERD,    D.D.,   PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 
See  Biographical  Sketches,  etc.,  page  227. 

THE   REV.  WILLIAM  ADAMS,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

WILLIAM  ADAMS,  the  son  of  John  Adams,  LL.D.,  and  Elizabeth  (Ripley) 
Adams,  was  born  in  Colchester,  Connecticut,  January  25,  1807.  His  parents 
removed  in  his  infancy  to  Andover,  Mass. ,  where  his  father  became  the  Principal 
of  Phillips  Academy.  Few  men  have  lived  of  more  rigid  and  conscientious  integ 
rity  than  John  Adams,  and  few  educators  have  been  as  distinguished  in  the  train 
ing  of  youth  who  afterwards  were  eminent  in  the  various  spheres  of  active  and 
professional  life.  Dr.  Adams  lived  to  the  great  age  of  ninety-one,  to  enjoy  the 
abundant  evidence  that  his  labors  were  not  in  vain.  He  was  a  descendant  of  the 
old  stock  of  Henry  Adams,  which  has  given  two  Presidents  to  the  United  States. 
His  wife  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Governor  Bradford,  of  the  May  Flower. 

Their  son  was  educated  at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  from  which  he  entered 
Yale  College,  New  Haven,  and  graduated  in  1827.  His  theological  studies  were 
pursued  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
Boston,  by  the  Suffolk  South  Association,  in  the  spring  of  1830.  Immediately 
after  leaving  the  Seminary,  in  September,  1830,  he  was  invited  to  the  pastorate 
of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Brighton,  Mass.,  where  he  was  ordained  and 
installed  in  February,  1831.  Leaving  that  place,  because  of  the  illness  of  his 
wife,  he  was  invited  to  become  the  pastor  of  the  Broome  Street  Church  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  in  the  summer  of  1834.  This  invitation  he  accepted,  and  he 
was  installed  over  the  church  in  November,  1834,  by  the  Third  Presbytery  of 
New  York.  In  1853,  the  church  erected  a  new  and  splendid  building  on  the 
corner  of  Madison  avenue  and  Twenty-fourth  street,  in  which  Dr.  Adams  has 
continued  to  preach  until  the  present  time,  so  that  in  November  next  he  will  com 
plete  his  thirty-sixth  year  of  pastoral  service  in  the  same  congregation.  He 
received  the  honorary  degree  of  S.  T.D.,  in  1842,  from  the  University  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  and  of  LL.D.  from  "  The  College  of  New  Jersey,"  at  Prince 
ton,  in  1869.  Dr.  Adams  has  occupied  a  very  prominent  position  in  the  Presbyte 
rian  Church  from  the  time  he  entered  its  ministry,  and  has-  received  from  the 
Church  many  marks  of  its  appreciation  of  his  abilities  and  virtues.  He  was  Mod 
erator  of  the  General  Assembly  which  met  in  the  city  of  Washington  in  the  year 
1852,  and  has  been  a  most  influential  member  of  several  of  the  standing  commit 
tees  of  the  General  Assembly  from  the  time  of  their  organization.  His  published 
works  consist  in  part  of  sermons  printed  in  the  "National  Preacher"  and  in 
pamphlet  form.  Among  these  is  one  to  the  memory  of  Professor  Moses  Stuart, 
which  "is  a  beautiful  wreath  laid  by  a  grateful  pupil  upon  the  grave  of  his  beloved 
33 


514  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

teacher  and  intimate  friend."  Besides  these,  he  has  published  several  volumes 
which  have  had  extended  circulation,  and  are  highly  appreciated  by  the  Christian 
community,  alike  for  the  perfectness  of  their  style  and  the  ability  with  which  their 
important  themes  are  treated.  These  are,  "The  Three  Gardens,"  "Thanksgiv 
ing  Memories  of  the  Day,  and  Helps  to  the  Habit,"  and  "Conversations  of  Jesus 
Christ  with  Representative  Men." 

Dr.  Adams'  life  has  been  spent  chiefly  in  his  study  and  among  his  own  people, 
he  having  little  taste  for  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The  Assembly  of  1866,  which  met 
in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  however,  having  appointed  him  on  the  Committee  on 
Reunion,  he  earnestly  engaged  in  its  duties,  with  signal  honor  to  himself,  and  with 
great  influence  in  furthering  the  end  in  view.  Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  his  speeches  delivered  in  New  York  and  Pittsburg,  both  as  Commissioner  from 
the  General  Assembly  of  his  own  Church  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  other 
branch,  and  as  member  of  the  Committee  on  Reunion,  contributed  most  power 
fully  to  the  conviction  which  seemed  finally  to  become  unanimous,  that  Reunion 
was  safe  and  right,  and  most  glorifying  to  God.  In  New  York,  in  which  city  he 
has  resided  so  long,  his  name  is  identified  with  many  institutions  of  learning  and 
benevolence,  and  his  fame  as  a  good  man  and  devoted  to  good,  bringing  to  the 
promotion  of  every  right  cause  rare  abilities  both  of  mind  and  heart,  is  through 
out  the  land,  and  "  in  regions  beyondS* 

THE  REV.  EDWIN  F.  HATFIELD,  D.D.,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

EDWIN  F.  HATFIELD,  the  son  of  Oliver  S.  and  Jane  (Mann)  Hatfield,  was 
born  in  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  January  9,  1807.  His  father  was  a  descendant  of 
Matthias  Hatfield,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  town  in  1665.  His  mother  was  a 
descendant  of  John  Woodruff,  another  founder  of  the  town,  and  of  John  Ward,  Jr. , 
and  Richard  Harrison,  founders  of  Newark,  N.  J.  He  made  a  public  profession  of 
his  faith  in  Christ  in  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  city  of  New  York,  on 
March  25,  1827.  He  graduated  at  Middlebury  College,  Vt.,  in  1829;  studied 
theology  at  the  Seminary  in  Andover,  Mass.,  1829-31  ;  was  licensed  to  preach  the 
Gospel  by  the  Third  Presbytery  of  New  York,  October  6,  1831,  and  ordained  by 
the  same  Presbytery  at  New  York,  May  14,  1832.  From  October,  1831,  to  Feb 
ruary,  1832,  he  preached  at  Rockaway,  N.  J.,  as  an  assistant  of  the  Rev.  Barnabas 
King,  D.D.  ;  and  from  March,  1832,  to  September,  1832,  at  Orange,  N.  J.,  as 
an  assistant  of  the  Rev.  Asa  R.  Hillyer,  D.  D.  ;  was  pastor  of  the  Second  Presby 
terian  Church  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  from  October,  1832,  to  February,  1835;  of  the 
Seventh  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York,  from  July,  1835,  to  February,  1856  ; 
and  of  the  North  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York,  from  February,  1856,  to 
October,  1863.  Resigned  and  retired  from  the  pastoral  work  on  account  of  loss 
of  health.  Remained  one  year  in  retirement,  when  he  became  special  agent  of 
the  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  New  York,  December,  1864,  and  in  the  fol 
lowing  year  obtained  for  the  Seminary  an  endowment  of  $150,000.  Two  years 
were  then  occupied  in  writing  and  preparing  for  the  press  a  "  History  of  Elizabeth, 


APPENDIX.  515 

N.  J.,"  702  pp.,  8vo.  In  May,  1868,  he  took  the  place  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kendall, 
Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Committee  of  Home  Missions  (abroad  for  his 
health),  till  October,  1868,  from  which  time  he  has  been  Secretary  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Department  of  the  same  Committee.  In  January,  1870,  he  again  became 
special  agent  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  to  raise  $500,000,  of  which  sum 
he  has  already  secured  the  one-half.  He  has  been  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Third  Pres 
bytery  of  New  York  since  October,  1838,  and  of  the  General  Assembly  since 
May,  1846.  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  S.  T.  D.  in  1850,  from  Marietta 
College,  Ohio. 

Dr.  Hatfield's  pastoral  life  was  a  most  active  and  fruitful  one.  During  his 
ministry  in  the  Seventh  Church  in  New  York,  1556  persons  were  received  into 
the  communion  of  the  church  on  examination,  and  662  by  certificate  from  other 
churches ;  and  in  all  other  respects  the  church  was  greatly  strengthened.  The 
same  devotedness  which  he  displayed  as  pastor  he  has  carried  into  the  other  work 
which  has  been  devolved  upon  him,  and  amidst  his  activities  he  has  found  time  to 
become  the  author  of  a  number  of  valuable  works,  of  which  the  principal  are, 
"  Universalism  as  it  is,"  1841  ;  "  Memoir  of  Elihu  W.  Baldwin,  D.  D.,"  1843; 
"St.  Helena  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,"  1852;  and  "The  History  of  Eliza 
beth,  N.  J.,"  1868.  He  is  now  engaged  in  providing  suitable  accommodations 
for  Union  Theological  Seminary,  on  the  grounds  recently  purchased  on  Harlem 
Heights,  and  completing  the  endowment  of  the  Seminary. 

THE  REV.  JONATHAN  F.   STEARNS,  D.D.,  NEWARK,  N.   J. 

JONATHAN  F.  STEARNS,  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stearns,  was  born  in 
Bedford,  Mass.,  where  his  father  was  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church,  his 
only  charge,  for  a  period  of  forty  years.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  Phillips 
Academy,  Andover,  Mass.  ;  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  in 
1830;  and  studied  theology  partly  at  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  and  partly 
under  the  direction  of  his  father.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Woburn  As 
sociation  in  Massachusetts,  in  October,  1834,  and  was  ordained,  and  installed 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Newburyport,  Mass. ,  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Londonderry,  in  the  Synod  of  Albany,  on  September  16,  1835.  Beneath  the 
pulpit  of  this  church  repose  the  remains  of  George  Whitefield.  In  1836  he  was  a 
commissioner  from  the  Presbytery  of  Londonderry  to  the  General  Assembly  in 
Pittsburg.  His  ministry  at  Newburyport  continued  fourteen  years.  In  Octo 
ber,  1849,  he  accepted  a  call  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Newark, 
N.  J.,  and  was  installed  pastor  of  that  church  by  the  Presbytery  of  Newark  in 
December  of  the  same  year.  He  still  continues  the  honored  pastor  of  this  import 
ant  and  ancient  charge.  He  received  the  degree  of  S.T.D.  from  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  at  Princeton,  in  the  year  1850.  He  was  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly  which  met  in  Harrisburg  in  the  year  1868.  Dr.  Stearns  is  a  member 
of  several  of  the  committees  of  the  General  Assembly  for  prosecuting  the  work  of 
the  Church.  He  is  also  connected  with  literary  and  benevolent  institutions  in 


516  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

Newark  and  other  places,  and  is  widely  known  as  a  foremost  man  in  the  Church 
in  promoting  every  good  work. 

THE  REV.   PHILEMON  H.  FOWLER,  D.D.,  UTICA,  N.  Y. 

PHILEMON  H.  FOWLER,  the  son  of  William  and  Margaret  Fowler,  was  born 
in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  February  9,  1814.  He  was  educated  at  the  Albany  Academy, 
Hobart  College  at  Geneva,  and  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J. ; 
entering  college  in  1828  and  graduating  in  1832  ;  entering  the  Theological  Sem 
inary  in  1833,  and  graduating  in  1836.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Albany,  on  October  15,  1835,  and  ordained  by  the  same  Pres 
bytery,  sine  titulo,  in  1836.  He  was  called  to  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Washington,  D.  C. ,  before  leaving  the  seminary,  and  remained  in  charge  of  the 
Church  without  installation  from  the  autumn  of  1836  to  the  autumn  of  1839  ;  at 
which  time  he  accepted  a  call  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elmira,  N. 
Y.,  over  which  he  was  installed  pastor.  In  this  charge  he  continued  till  the  close 
of  the  year  1850,  when  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Utica,  N.  Y.,  in  which  charge  he  still  continues.  The  degree  of  S.  T.  D.  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  the  University  of  Norwich,  Vt.,  and,  afterwards,  the  same 
honor  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Williams  College,  Mass.  In  1869  Dr.  Fowler 
was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  which  met  in  May  in  the  Church  of  the 
Covenant,  New  York,  and  held  an  adjourned  meeting  in  November  in  the  Third 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.  At  this  Assembly  the  Reunion  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  was  consummated,  amid  scenes  of  gratulation  and  joy  which 
must  be  forever  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  Church.  Dr.  Fowler  occupies  a 
position  of  great  influence  in  the  Church.  His  congregation  is  large  and  active. 
He  is  a  trustee  of  Hamilton  College,  at  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  and  of  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.  He  is  also  a  Corporate  Member  of  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 

As  a  member  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Reunion  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  his  practical  wisdom  and  good  sense,  combined  with  courteous  manners 
and  a  catholic  Christian  spirit,  made  his  services  of  great  value. 

On  two  occasions  Dr.  Fowler  has  visited  Europe.  During  the  summer  of  1868 
he  represented  the  General  Assembly  of  his  Church  in  the  Assemblies  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland  and  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Ireland. 

THE  REV.  JAMES  B.  SHAW,  D.D.,  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

JAMES  BOYLAN  SHAW,  the  son  of  James  and  Margaret  Shaw,  was  born  in  the 
city  of  New  York  in  the  year  1808.  He  was  among  the  first  children  on  whose 
heads  the  venerable  Gardiner  Spring  laid  his  hand  in  baptism.  He  was  fitted  to 
enter  the  Sophomore  class  in  Yale  College,  and  then  entered  the  office  of  a  physi 
cian  and  attended  a  course  of  medical  lectures.  After  that  he  entered  the  office  of 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.  When  he  was 


APPEOTHX.  517 

about  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar,  the  Lord  touched  his  heart.  He  united  with  the 
Brick  Church  of  New  York  in  1829.  In  1834,  having  been  previously  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel,  he  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Genesee,  and  installed 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Utica.  For  thirty  years  he  has  been  pastor  of  the  Brick 
Church  of  Rochester,  which  reported  to  the  General  Assembly  which  met  in  1869 
in  the  Church  of  the  Covenant,  New  York,  1264  members.  The  College  of  West 
ern  Reserve  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  A.M.,  and  in  1852  the 
University  of  Rochester  gave  him  the  degree  of  S.T.D.  In  1862  he  was  elected  a 
corporate  member  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 
He  was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  which  met  in  Brooklyn  in  1865.  He 
is  a  Trustee  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  where  he  graduated 
in  1832.  He  was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1837,  when  the  act  of 
excision  was  passed,  and  that,  as  a  member  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Reunion, 
he  has  had  a  part  in  healing  the  breach,  he  counts  the  greatest  honor  of  his  life. 


THE  REV.  HENRY  L.  HITCHCOCK,  D.D.,  HUDSON,  OHIO. 

HENRY  L.  HITCHCOCK,  the  son  of  Peter  and  Nabby  Hitchcock,  was  born  at 
Benton,  Ohio,  October  31,  1813.  His  father,  who  settled  in  Northern  Ohio  in 
1806,  was  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  for  twenty-eight  years.  He 
also  held  other  important  public  positions  at  different  times,  as  member  of  the 
State  Legislature  and  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States.  Dr.  Hitchcock  received  his  academic  education  at  Benton  Academy.  In 
September,  1829,  he  entered  the  Sophomore  class  of  Yale  College,  and  graduated 
in  1832.  For  two  years  after  graduating  he  taught  in  Benton  Academy.  He 
then  spent  one  year  in  theological  studies,  reciting  to  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dexter 
Witter,  after  which  he  was  a  student  in  Lane  Theological  Seminary,  Walnut  Hills, 
Ohio.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of  Grand  River, 
Synod  of  the  Western  Reserve,  July  25,  1837.  He  was  ordained  and  installed  by 
the  same  Presbytery  over  the  church  of  Morgan,  Ohio,  November  29,  1837.  In 
June,  1840,  he  was  dismissed  from  this  charge  to  accept  a  call  from  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  which  had  then  been  organized  a  little 
more  than  one  year.  He  commenced  preaching  in  Columbus,  July,  1840,  and  was 
installed  pastor  of  the  church,  November  24,  1841,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Marion 
(afterwards  Franklin).  In  this  charge  he  remained  fifteen  years,  during  which  the 
church  became  strong  and  influential,  and  the  Third  Church  of  Columbus  was 
organized  from  its  membership.  This  church  afterwards  became  Congregational, 
and  is  now  a  large  and  useful  church.  Dr.  Hitchcock  became  President  of  Western 
Reserve  College,  Hudson,  Ohio,  in  July,  1855,  in  which  position  he  still  remains. 
In  addition  to  the  duties  of  the  Presidency,  he  is  the  pastor  of  the  College  Church, 
which  under  his  ministry  has  recovered  from  its  depression,  and  attained  a  good 
degree  of  prosperity. 


518  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 


THE  REV.   ROBERT  W.   PATTERSON,  D.D.,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

ROBERT  W.  PATTERSON,  the  son  of  Alexander  and  Sarah  (Stevenson)  Patter 
son,  was  born  in  Blount  County,  Tennessee,  January  21,  1814.  His  literary  course, 
preparatory  and  collegiate,  was  pursued  in  Illinois  College,  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois, 
and  his  theological  course  in  Lane  Seminary,  Walnut  Hills,  Ohio.  He  was  licensed 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Cincinnati  in  the  spring  of  1839,  and  was  ordained  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Ottawa,  Sept.  14,  1842  ;  and  at  the  same  time  he  was  installed  pastor 
of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago,  of  which  he  is  still  the  honored 
and  beloved  pastor.  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  S.T.D.  from  Hamilton 
College  at  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  in  July,  1857.  He  was  Moderator  of  the  General  As 
sembly  in  1859,  at  Wilmington,  Del.  He  has  been  the  recipient  of  numerous 
appointments  from  the  Church  of  which  he  has  been  so  long  a  prominent  minister. 
The  congregation  which  he  serves  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
effective  in  the  country,  and  for  years  has  been  recognized  as  a  power  in  the  land. 
Dr.  Patterson  has  been  a  Trustee  of  the  Lake  Forest  University  at  Chicago,  from 
its  organization,  and  for  several  years  was  a  Trustee  of  Blackburn  University. 

THE  REV.   HENRY  A.   NELSON,  D.D.,  ST.  Louis,  Mo. 

HENRY  A.  NELSON,  the  son  of  Seth  *  and  Sophia  (Aspinwall)  Nelson,  was 
born  in  Amherst,  Mass.,  Oct.  31,  1820.  His  great-grandfather,  grandfather,  and 
father  were  successively  deacons  in  the  Congregational  Church  at  Milford,  Wor 
cester  County,  Mass.,  the  first-named  being  ordained  to  that  office  in  1748.  In  his 
seventh  year  his  parents  removed  into  the  State  of  New  York.  They  died  in  Cort- 
lanclville  —  his  father  February  5th,  1857;  his  mother  in  1860.  His  father 
was  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  village  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  until  his  death.  He  was  prepared  for  College  at  the  Cortland  Academy  in 
Homer,  N.  Y.,  of  which  S.  B.  Woolworth,  LL. D.,  now  Secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  University  of  New  York,  was  then  Principal.  He  graduated  at 
Hamilton  College,  July  29,  1840 ;  received  from  the  trustees  of  that  institution  the 
degree  of  A.M.  in  1843,  and  the  honorary  degree  of  S.T.D.  in  1857.  In  1866  he 
was  invited  to  the  Presidency  of  the  College. 

After  graduating,  he  spent  three  years  in  teaching  in  Eaton,  N.  Y.,  and  in  Ho 
mer,  N.  Y.  He  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Auburn  in  October,  1843, 
and  graduated  in  June,  1846.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel  by  the  Pres 
bytery  of  Cortland,  in  the  church  of  Preble,  in  the  summer  of  1846.  He  was 
ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Cayuga,  and  installed  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyte 
rian  Church  of  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  July  29,  1846.  In  the  autumn  of  1856,  he  was 
installed  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.  In  April, 
1868,  he  resigned  that  charge,  having  been  elected  Professor  of  Systematic  and 
Pastoral  Theology  in  Lane  Theological  Seminary,  Walnut  Hills,  Ohio,  in  which 

*  Born  at  Milford,  Mass.,  Aug.  2,  1776.     He  removed  to  Amherst,  Mass.,  in  1815. 


APPENDIX.  519 

office  he  was  inaugurated  May  13,  1868.  He  was  a  member  of  the  General 
Assemblies  of  1850,  1860,  1867,  1868,  and  was  Moderator  of  that  of  1867  in  Roch 
ester,  N.  Y. 

THE  REV.  GEORGE  F.  WISWELL,  D.D.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

GEORGE  F.  WISWELL  received  his  collegiate  education  at  Middlebury  College, 
Vermont,  and  graduated  from  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  in  New  York,  in 
1844.  He  was  ordained  in  June,  1845.  He  has  been  settled  in  Southhold  and 
Peekskill,  N.  Y.,  and  in  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  is  now  the  pastor  of  the  Green 
Hill  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia.  After  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brain- 
erd  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Reunion  Committee,  and  attended  all  the 
sessions  of  the  Committee  after  the  first. 

He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  S.T.D.  in  1866,  from  Hamilton  College, 
Clinton,  N.  Y. 

JAMES  M.  RAY,  ESQ.,  INDIANAPOLIS,  IND. 

JAMES  MITCHELL  RAY,  son  of  Andrew  (from  Kippen,  Scotland),  and  Mary 
McWhorter  (McChesney)  (of  New  Jersey)  Ray,  was  born  at  Caldwell,  N.  J. , 
December  23,  1800.  After  preparatory  education  in  the  city  of  New  York,  he 
was  two  years  at  Columbia  College,  until  1814,  when  the  family  removed  to  Bal 
timore,  Md. ,  and  thence  to  the  West. 

In  October,  1821,  when  the  city  of  Indianapolis  was  laid  out,  Mr.  Ray  was  the 
clerk  at  the  first  sale  of  its  lots.  In  1822  he  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  county  (Marion).  In  1829  he  was  re-elected  Clerk  and  Recorder, 
which  office  he  resigned  in  1834  to  accept  the  appointment  of  Cashier  of  the 
State  Bank  of  Indiana  at  its  organization,  and  also  that  of  Clerk  of  the  Commis 
sioners  of  the  Sinking  Fund,  who  had  charge  of  the  income  of  the  stock  in  the 
Bank  held  by  the  State.  In  the  management  of  these  Commissioners  the  profits  to 
the  State  reached  the  sum  of  three  and  a  quarter  millions  (3,250,000)  dollars, 
the  interest  on  which  is  forever  pledged  to  the  support  of  the  common  schools  of 
the  State. 

These  offices  he  filled  until  the  charter  of  the  Bank  expired  and  the  Bank  of  the 
State  of  Indiana  was  chartered.  Of  this  bank  he  was  chosen  cashier  in  January, 
1857.  This  position  he  held  until  after  the  resignation  of  the  presidency  by  the 
Hon.  Hugh  McCulloch  and  George  W.  Rathbone,  Esq.,  when  he  was  elected 
President.  This  office  he  has  continued  to  hold  till  the  present  time. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  late  civil  war,  Mr.  Ray  was  one  of  the  three  State  Com 
missioners  who  successfully  negotiated  two  millions  (2,000,000)  of  Indiana  War 
Loan  bonds,  for  the  equipping,  arming,  and  forwarding  the  volunteers  of  In 
diana  to  the  field.  During  the  entire  period  of  the  struggle  he  showed  his  deep 
interest  in  his  country's  trouble  by  his  services  as  treasurer,  at  Indianapolis,  of  the 


520  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNION. 

Christian  Commission,  of  the  Freedmen's  Commission,  and  of  the  Indiana  Soldier's 
and  Seaman's  Home. 

Mr.  Ray  was  elected  superintendent  of  the  first  Sabbath  School  in  Indianapolis, 
in  April,  1823.  He  united  with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Indianapolis  in 
October,  1828.  He  was  chosen  elder  of  tTie  church  on  October  17,  1830;  which 
office  he  still  holds,  in  this,  the  fortieth  year  of  his  service.  He  has  served  as 
Commissioner  of  his  Presbytery  at  several  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly.  In 
1866  he  was  appointed  on  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Reunion  of  the  Presbyte 
rian  Church.  In  the  deliberations  of  this  Committee  he  took  an  active  and  import 
ant  part,  especially  at  the  important  and  decisive  meeting  held  in  Philadelphia  in 
1868. 

When,  in  1838,  after  the  division  of  the  Church,  fifteen  members  of  the  First 
Church  of  Indianapolis  withdrew  to  organize  the  Second  Church,  under  the  Rev. 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Ray  a  certificate  of  good  standing 
was  unanimously  given  to  the  withdrawing  members,  with  kind  expressions  of 
love,  and  desire  for  their  prosperity,  and  the  continuance  of  brotherly  affection ; 
and  at  the  same  time  a  fair  division  of  the  property  of  the  First  Church  was  satis 
factorily  made.  These  fraternal  desires  have  been  happily  fulfilled.  In  thirty- 
two  years,  these  churches,  with  their  offspring,  have  dwelt  together  in  love  and 
peace,  and  have  been  equally  blessed.  There  are  now  in  Indianapolis  eight 
churches,  four  of  each  branch  of  the  Church,  now  privileged  to  unite  under  one 
banner,  in  name,  as  well  as  in  heart. 

HON.  ROBERT  McKNIGHT,  PITTSBURG,  PA. 

ROBERT  MCKNIGHT,  son  of  William  and  Catharine  McKnight,  was  born  in 
Pittsburg,  O.,  January  27,  1820. 

He  prepared  for  College  at  Xenia,  O.,  where  he  spent  four  years  under  the  in 
struction  of  the  Rev.  Hugh  McMillan,  and  near  Pittsburg,  where  he  was  two 
years  under  the  instruction  of  Daniel  Stone,  Esq.  He  entered  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  at  Princeton,  in  1835,  and  graduated  in  1839. 

In  1839,  after  graduating  from  college,  he  entered  the  office  of  Richard  Biddle, 
Esq.,  as  student  of  law.  Admitted  to  the  bar  of  Allegheny  County,  Pa.,  in  1842. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of  Pittsburg  in  the  years  1848,  1849, 
1850,  and  during  the  last  two  was  President  of  the  Council.  He  was  elected  to 
the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  in  1858,  and  in  the  Thirty-sixth 
Congress  served  on  the  Committee  of  Elections.  He  was  re-elected  to  the 
Thirty- seventh  Congress,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
This  committee  reported  the  bill  for  the  recognition  of  Hayti  and  Liberia,  in  favor 
of  which  Mr.  McKnight  addressed  the  House,  and  which  became  law.  For  his 
services  in  behalf  of  the  Liberian  Republic  he  received  a  token  of  thanks  from  the 
three  Commissioners  of  Liberia.  In  the  same  Congress  he  was  placed  on  a  joint 
commission  with  two  Senators  and  two  Representatives,  Captain  Dupont,  U.  S.  N., 
and  Major-General  Gareschie,  U.  S.  A.,  to  examine  and  report  as  to  the  com- 


APPEISTDIX.  521 

pensation  of  all  officers  of  government,  civil,  naval,  and  military.  After  leaving 
Congress,  Mr.  McKnight  served  as  Vice-President  of  the  Western  Branch  of  the 
Christian  Commission,  which  effected  such  great  benefit  for  the  troops  during  the 
late  civil  war. 

He  united  with  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church  of  Allegheny  City  (Rev.  Dr. 
Plumer,  pastor)  in  1854.  He  was  elected  and  ordained  ruling  elder  in  the  same 
church  in  March,  1857.  He  transferred  his  membership  to  the  North  Church  of 
Allegheny  City  (Rev.  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge,  pastor)  in  1868,  and  was  elected  elder  in 
that  year.  He  still  serves  in  this  office  in  the  North  Church.  He  was  a  Commis 
sioner  to  the  General  Assembly  in  Pittsburg  in  1865,  in  St.  Louis  in  1866,  and  in 
Albany  in  1868.  In  1862  he  was  elected  Director  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
.Allegheny  City.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  on  the  Joint  Committee  on  Reunion  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  In  1868  he  was  appointed  on  the  Committee  on  Re 
union  of  the  Old  and  New  School  and  United  Presbyterian  Churches.  In  1869, 
with  the  Rev.  Drs.  Beatty  and  Musgrave,  he  represented  the  Assembly  of  his  own 
Church  in  the  General  Assembly  then  in  session  in  the  Church  of  the  Covenant,  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  By  the  General  Assembly  of  1869  he  was  appointed  on  the 
Committee  to  investigate  the  affairs  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Danville,  Ky. , 
and  in  the  discharge  of  that  duty  visited  Kentucky.  This  Committee  reported  at 
the  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Assembly  in  Pittsburg,  and  the  report  was  unani 
mously  adopted.  At  the  adjourned  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in  Pitts 
burg,  Mr.  McKnight  was  appointed  on  the  committee  to  inquire  and  report  on 
the  best  means  of  raising  and  distributing  funds  for  the  reunited  Presbyterian 
Church. 

Mr.  McKnight's  life  has  been  one  of  honor  and  usefulness,  both  in  Church  and 
State. 

HON.   SAMUEL  GALLOWAY,  LL.D.,  COLUMBUS,  O. 

SAMUEL  GALLOWAY,  the  son  of  John  and  Margaret  Galloway,  was  born  of 
Scotch-Irish  parentage,  in  Gettysburg,  Adams  County,  Pa.,  in  1811.  His  father 
was  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  more  than  thirty  years,  first  under  the 
pastorate  of  the  Rev.  William  Paxton,  D.D.,  at  Marsh  Creek,  Pa.,  and  after 
wards  under  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  David  McConaughy,  in  Gettysburg.  Mr. 
Galloway  lived  in  Gettysburg  till  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1829.  Soon  after  this 
he  removed  to  Ohio,  and  completed  his  education  at  Miami  University,  at  Oxford, 
where  he  graduated  in  1833,  with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class.  In  1833-34  he 
taught  a  classical  school  at  Hamilton,  Ohio  ;  and  in  1835  he  was  chosen  to  supply 
in  part  the  department  of  Ancient  Languages  in  Miami  University,  made  vacant 
by  the  resignation  of  Dr.  W.  H.  McGuffey.  In  consequence  of  ill-health,  he 
relinquished  that  position  in  1836,  and  for  a  year  engaged  in  agricultural  and  other 
active  pursuits;  after  which  he  resumed  teaching,  first  at  Springfield,  O.,  and  in 
1839-40  as  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  in  South  Hanover  College,  Ind. 
His  health  again  failing,  he  returned  to  Ohio,  and  commenced  the  study  of  law  at 


522  PKESBYTEKIAN   REUNION. 

Hillsboro.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1842,  and  in  1843  removed  to  Chilli- 
cothe.  In  1844  he  was  elected  Secretary  of  State,  and  removed  to  Columbus,  in 
which  city  he  has  since  resided.  In  1851  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  In 
1854  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  and 
participated  prominently  in  the  political  conflicts  arising  out  of  the  Kansas  diffi 
culties. 

As  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Galloway  was  ex-officio  Superintendent  of  Common 
Schools,  and  in  that  capacity  his  personal  efforts  and  his  annual  reports  to  the 
Legislature  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  public  instruction  in  Ohio,  and 
entitle  him  to  a  high  place  among  the  educational  benefactors  of  the  State.  His 
eloquent  advocacy  of  the  claims  of  teaching  to  a  much  more  honorable  and  lucra 
tive  consideration  than  it  had  received,  of  a  higher  standard  of  qualification  for  its 
duties,  of  teachers'  institutes  and  associations,  of  county  superintendency,  of  an  in 
dependent  State  superintendency,  of  school  libraries,  and  generally  of  the  undeni 
able  value  of  education  both  to  the  public  and  individuals,  arrested  the  attention 
of  public  men,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  associated  and  legislative  action  which 
followed.  Of  the  State  Teachers'  Association,  which  was  formed  in  December, 
1847,  he  was  elected  the  first  president,  and  has  often  responded  to  invitations  to 
address  educational  conventions  and  associations.  In  all  philanthropic  movements 
he  has  always  taken  a  very  prominent  part,  although  his  special  line  of  study  and 
activity  has  been  in  the  sphere  of  political  life,  and  law.  In  his  own  chosen  field, 
before  a  jury,  the  bench,  or  the  people,  a  competent  witness  has  written,  Ohio  has 
among  her  living  orators  not  one  more  versatile,  effective,  or  popular. 

In  1833,  Mr.  Galloway  became  a  member,  in  full  communion,  of  the  Presbyte 
rian  Church  of  Hillsboro,  O.,  on  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ.  In  1859  he 
was  elected  an  elder  of  the  Westminster  Church  of  Columbus,  O.  He  has  been 
three  times  a  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly:  in  1860  at  Rochester,  N. 
Y.  ;  in  1864  at  St.  Louis,  and  in  1865  at  Cincinnati.  He  has  been  a  Director 
of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Allegheny,  Pa.,  and  of  the  Boards  of 
Domestic  Missions  and  Publication. 

HON.    HOVEY   K.  CLARKE,  DETROIT,  MICH. 

HOVEY  K.  CLARKE,  son  of  Hovey  and  Sarah  (Kilburn)  Clarke,  was  born  in 
Sterling,  Mass.,  July  n,  1812.  His  school  days  were  spent  mainly  in  the  academies 
at  Utica  and  Clinton,  New  York,  and  in  "Phillips,"  at  Andover,  Mass.,  from 
1821  to  1828.  From  1816  to  1831  his  home  was  in  Utica,  N.  Y.,  then  five  years 
in  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1836  he  came  to  Michigan,  in  which  State  he  has 
since  resided  ;  in  Detroit  since  1852.  He  was  first  elected  an  elder  in  1837,  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Allegan,  Mich.  Since  that  time  he  has  held  the  office  in 
the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  in  Allegan,  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Mar 
shall,  in  the  Second  (now  Fort  Street)  Church  and  the  "  Westminster"  Church  in 
Detroit.  He  has  been  a  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  in  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
in  1857;  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  1860;  in  Philadelphia  in  1861  ;  in  Columbus, 


APPENDIX.  523 

Ohio,  in  1862  ;  in  Peoria,  111.,  in  1863 ;  in  St.  Louis  in  1866 ;  and  in  Cincinnati  in 

1867.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  hi  1860, 
1864,  and  1868,  and  of  the  Board  of  Publication  in  1867  to  fill  a  vacancy,  and  in 

1868.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Theological  Seminary 
of  the  North-west  from  1865  to  1869.     In  1866  he  was  appointed  a  member  of 
the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Reunion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

HON.  GEORGE  P.  STRONG,  ST.   Louis,  Mo. 

GEORGE  P.  STRONG,  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Pierce  and  Laura  (Clark) 
Strong,  was  born  at  Woodbury,  Conn.,  December  17,  1812,  but  resided  the  most 
of  his  life  previous  to  going  to  college  at  Vienna,  Ontario  County,  N.  Y.,  where 
his  father  was  settled  in  the  ministry  for  many  years.  He  entered  Hamilton  Col 
lege,  at  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  in  1831,  but  left  at  the  commencement  of  his  Sophomore 
year,  and  studied  at  Canandaigua,  in  order  to  enter  the  Senior  Class  at  Yale  Col 
lege  in  the  fall  of  1833.  Ill-health  prevented  this  purpose  from  execution,  and  he 
never  returned  to  College. 

In  1835  he  went  South,  and  spent  eighteen  months  in  teaching  in  the 
State  of  Kentucky.  In  the  summer  of  1836  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  Elkton,  Todd  County,  Ky.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  removed 
to  Clinton,  Hinds  County,  Miss.,  and  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
that  place.  In  1839  he  was  elected  and  ordained  elder  of  the  Clinton  Church.  In 
the  fall  of  1840  he  removed  to  Port  Gibson,  Miss.,  and  connected  himself  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  place,  and  served  it  in  the  office  of  the  eldership 
from  1840  or  1841,  until  his  removal  to  St.  Louis  in  1852.  In  St.  Louis  he  united 
with  the  Westminster  Church.  In  1853  a  union  was  effected  between  the  West 
minster  Church  (Old  School)  and  the  Pine  Street  Church  (New  School).  Mr. 
Strong  was  on  the  committee  to  effect  that  union,  and  drew  the  "  Plan  of  Union." 
The  first  condition  was,  that  the  united  church  should  be  received  under  the  care  of 
the  (Old  School)  Presbytery  of  St.  Louis.  This  was  done,  and  the  united  church 
retained  the  name  of  "The  Pine  Street  Presbyterian  Church."  In  1853  or  1854, 
he  was  elected  an  elder  in  that  church,  which  office  he  still  continues  to  hold.  The 
church  prospered  in  great  harmony  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  S.  B. 
McPheeters,  until  the  war  broke  out  in  1861.  Then  the  pastor  and  a  large  por 
tion  of  the  church,  with  all  the  elders,  excepting  Mr.  Strong,  sympathized  with  the 
South :  this  occasioned  a  long  and  bitter  controversy,  which  resulted  in  the  with 
drawal  of  nearly  all  the  members  who  sympathized  with  the  Government.  When 
the  war  was  over,  the  session  of  the  church  called  to  the  pastorate  a  chaplain  in 
the  Southern  army,  who  was  installed.  Mr.  Strong  appealed  from  this  action  to 
the  Presbytery,  and  it  was  set  aside ;  and  Mr.  Strong  and  the  members  adhering  to 
the  General  Assembly  were  recognized  as  "  the  Pine  Street  Church  "  and  Session. 
The  majority  repudiated  the  action  of  the  Presbytery,  and  are  now  acting  with 
the  "  Declaration  and  Testimony  "  party  in  Missouri.  The  matter  of  the  church 
property  is  not  adjudicated  as  yet. 


524  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNION. 

He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1840  in  Mississippi,  and  since  1843  ne  nas  Pur" 
sued  his  profession  as  a  lawyer  without  interruption. 

The  only  civil  office  Mr.  Strong  has  held  is  that  of  member  of  the  Constitution 
al  Convention  which  framed  the  present  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 
In  that  Convention  he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Emancipation,  and 
brought  in  the  Ordinance  of  Emancipation  which  passed  January  nth,  1865,  mak 
ing  Missouri  a  free  State.  He  was  also  Chairman  of  the  Standing  Committee  on 
Education,  and  drew  the  article  on  Education  as  it  now  exists  in  the  Constitution. 
During  the  war  for  a  time  he  held  the  commission  of  major,  and  for  a  year  was 
on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Edwards  in  the  service  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 

During  the  late  war  Mr.  Strong  was  very  active  in  sustaining  the  Government 
of  the  country.  He  has  repeatedly  declined  nominations  for  office,  as  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Missouri,  and  Governor  of  the  State. 

PRESIDENT  ORMOND   BEATTY,  LL.D.,  DANVILLE,  KY. 

ORMOND  BEATTY,  son  of  Adam  and  Sarah  Beatty,  was  born  in  Mason  Coun 
ty,  Ky.,  August  13,  1815. 

His  early  education  was  received  chiefly  in  the  town  of  Washington,  near  which 
his  father  resided.  In  1832  he  became  a  student  in  Centre  College  at  Danville, 
Ky.,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  C.  Young,  and  graduated  in 
September,  1835.  In  1835  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Danville. 
In  1844  he  was  elected  an  elder  of  the  First  Church  of  Danville,  and  served  in 
the  office  until  1852,  when  he  became  an  elder  in  the  Second  Church,  which  was 
organized  in  that  year.  He  was  a  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  in  Nash 
ville,  Tenn.,  in  1855,  in  St.  Louis  in  1866,  and  in  Cincinnati  in  1867. 

In  1836  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Danville  College,  Ky.,  in 
which  position  he  continued  until  1870.  In  September,  1870,  he  was  elected 
President  of  the  college. 

HON.   JOSEPH  ALLISON,  LL.D.,    WEST  PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 

HON.  HENRY  W.  WILLIAMS,  LL.D.,  PITTSBURG,  PA. 
HENRY  WARREN  WILLIAMS,  the  son  of  Warren  and  Elizabeth  Stanton  (Gal 
lup)  Williams,  was  born  in  Groton  (now  Ledyard),  New  London  County,  Conn., 
January  20,  1816.  Both  of  his  parents  were  members  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  in  which  his  father  was  Deacon  for  a  number  of  years  before  his  death  in 
1843.  He  was  a  man  of  the  strictest  integrity,  and  a  Christian  of  devoted  piety. 
His  mother  is  still  living,  a  woman  of  great  energy,  sound  sense,  and  correct 
Christian  life.  He  attended  common  school  till  he  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age. 
In  the  fall  of  1831,  he  commenced  preparatory  studies  for  a  collegiate  course  at 
Bacon  Academy,  Colchester,  Conn.,  where  he  remained  two  terms.  In  the  spring 
of  1832  he  went  to  Plainfield  Academy '(Plainfield,  Conn.),  where  he  remained  till 
the  fall  of  1833,  when  he  entered  Amherst  College  (Amherst,  Mass.),  from  which 


APPENDIX.  525 

he  graduated  in  1837.  In  college  he  took  and  maintained  throughout  his  entire 
course  a  very  high  rank  as  a  speaker,  a  writer,  a  debater,  a  logician,  and  meta 
physician,  while  because  of  his  many  virtues  he  was  one  of  the  most  popular  of 
his  class.  After  graduating  he  taught  for  one  year  at  Southwick,  Mass.  In 
March,  1839,  he  entered  the  office  of  Walter  H.  Lowrie,  Esq.  (now  ex-Chief  Jus 
tice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania),  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  studied  law  un 
der  his  direction  until  May,  1841,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Allegheny 
County,  Pa.  He  practised  his  profession  with  increasing  success,  as  a  partner 
of  his  preceptor,  until  Mr.  Lowrie  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  District  Court  of 
the  County,  and  then  with  William  M.  Shinn  until  October,  1851,  when  he  was 
elected  Associate  Judge  of  the  District  Court  for  the  county  of  Allegheny,  for  ten 
years  from  the  first  Monday  of  December,  1851.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term, 
Judge  Williams  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term  of  ten  years.  He  remained  on 
the  bench  of  the  District  Court  till  October,  1868,  when  he  was  appointed  by 
Gov.  Geary  a  Judge  of  Supreme  Court,  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by 
the  resignation  of  the  Hon.  Wm.  Strong.  He  took  his  seat  on  the  26th  day  of 
October,  1868.  In  October  of  the  following  year  (1869)  he  was  elected  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  term  of  fifteen  years  from  the  first  Monday  of  the  fol 
lowing  December.  This  office  he  now  holds.  Judge  Williams  united  with  the 
Third  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburg  (Rev.  D.  H.  Riddle,  D.D.,  pastor),  March 
I,  1840.  He  was  elected  elder  May  12,  1858,  and  ordained  July  18,  1858  ;  at 
which  time  Rev.  H.  Kendall,  D.  D.,  was  installed  pastor,  in  place  of  Dr.  Riddle, 
resigned.  He  was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  at  Wilmington,  Del.,  in 
1859;  at  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  1865,  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1866;  at  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
1867.  He  was  elected  Corporate  Member  of  the  American  Board  of  Commis 
sioners  for  Foreign  Missions  at  the  annual  meeting  in  Pittsburg  in  1869.  The 
honorary  degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Amherst  College  in  1866. 


HON.  TRUMAN  P.  HANDY,  CLEVELAND,  OHIO. 

TRUMAN  P.  HANDY,  son  of  William  and  Eunice  Handy,  was  born  in  Paris, 
Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  January  17,  1807. 

He  united  with  the  Congregational  Church  of  Paris  Hill,  N.  Y.,  on  profession 
of  his  faith  in  Christ,  at  the  age  of  13  years. 

He  was  elected  elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in 
1833  ;  and  in  June,  1844,  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cleveland  ;  this 
latter  he  now  serves  in  this  office. 

He  was  a  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  at  Wilmington,  Del.,  in  1859, 
at  St.  Louis,  1866,  and  at  Rochester  in  1867.  He  was  appointed  on  the  Com 
mittee  on  the  Reunion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  1866,  and  attended  all  its 
meetings. 

He  is  a  Trustee  of  the  College  of  the  Western  Reserve,  Hudson,  Ohio.  For 
thirty-five  years  he  has  served  as  a  Sabbath-school  Superintendent  in  Cleveland. 


526  PKESBYTEKIAN 


In  his  business  relations  he  has  been  cashier  and  president  of  banking  institutions 
in  Cleveland  for  thirty-eight  years. 

MR.  ROBERT  W.  STEELE,  DAYTON,  OHIO. 

ROBERT  W.  STEELE  was  born  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  July  3,  1819.  He  graduated 
at  Miami  University,  Oxford,  Ohio,  under  the  Presidency  of  the  Rev.  George  Jun- 
kin,  D.D.  He  united  with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Dayton  in  1841,  and 
removed  his  membership  to  the  Third  Street  Presbyterian  Church  in  1842.  He 
was  ordained  an  elder  in  the  Third  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  January  22,  1854, 
and  has  served  that  church  in  this  office  until  the  present  time. 

He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Miami  University,  and  a  di 
rector  in  Lane  Theological  Seminary,  at  Walnut  Hills,  Ohio.  For  twenty-five 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  Dayton,  Ohio.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  of  Ohio,  and  one  of  the  five  citizens  of  Ohio 
appointed  by  the  Governor  to  constitute  "  The  Board  of  State  Charities,"  whose 
duty  it  is  "  to  investigate  the  whole  system  of  the  public  charitable  and  correctional 
institutions  of  the  State,  and  recommend  such  changes  and  additional  provisions 
as  they  may  deem  necessary  for  their  economical  and  efficient  administration." 

HON.   EDWARD   A.  LAMBERT,  BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. 

EDWARD  AUGUSTUS  LAMBERT,  son  of  William  A.  and  Jane  Lambert,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  June  10,  1813.  He  united  with  the  Central  Presbyterian 
Church  of  New  York,  on  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ,  in  1830. 

He  was  one  of  thirty-two  young  persons  who  organized  the  Third  Free  Presby 
terian  Church  of  New  York,  in  December,  1831,  the  Rev.  Dirck  C.  Lansing,  D.D., 
pastor.  This  church  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Houston  Street  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  which  the  Rev.  Samuel  D.  Burchard,  D.D.,  became  pastor.  At  a  subse 
quent  time  it  was  removed  to  Thirteenth  street,  between  Sixth  and  Seventh  ave 
nues,  where  it  is  at  present  located,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  flourishing 
Presbyterian  churches  in  the  city  of  New  York.  In  1846  Mr.  Lambert  removed  to 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  and  connected  himself  with  the  South  Presbyterian  Church, 
then  newly  organized  (the  Rev.  Samuel  T.  Spear  then  and  still  pastor).  In  1857 
he  with  others  organized  the  Park  Presbyterian  Church,  Brooklyn,  now  known  as 
the  Lafayette  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Rev.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  D.  D.  , 
pastor.  He  was  ordained  an  elder  in  the  Houston  Street  Church  in  1837,  and  he 
held  the  office  in  the  South  Presbyterian  Church  and  Lafayette  Avenue  Church, 
Brooklyn.  In  this  latter  church  he  is  now  serving. 

In  1855  the  General  Assembly  appointed  him  a  member  of  "  the  Church  Exten 
sion  Committee."  In  1861  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  a  mem 
ber  of  "  the  Committee  of  Home  Missions,"  and  of  this  Committee  he  has  been 
Treasurer  since  its  organization.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  As 
sembly  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  "  the  Reunion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  " 
Mr.  Lambert  has  had  several  very  important  and  responsible  positions  in  civil  life. 
In  1853  and  ^54  ne  was  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  He  was  one  of  the 


APPENDIX.  527 

original  trustees  of  the  New  York  State  Inebriate  Asylum,  and  was  appointed  by 
the  Legislature  as  one  of  the  committee  to  select  a  location.  He  was  a  Com 
missioner  to  the  General  Assemblies  of  1855,  1862,  1866,  1868,  and  1870. 


HON.  JACOB  S.  FARRAND,  DETROIT,  MICH. 

JACOB  SHAW  FARRAND,  son  of  Bethuel  and  Marilla  (Shaw)  Farrand,  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Mentz,  Cayuga  County,  New  York.  His  father  was  of 
Huguenot,  and  his  mother  of  Puritan  descent.  In  1825  the  family  emigrated  to  the 
then  territory  of  Michigan.  When  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  went  to  Detroit,  then  a  place  of  two  thousand  inhabitants,  and  there  he  has 
since  remained.  In  1832  he  made  a  public  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ,  and 
united  with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Detroit,  of  which  the  Rev.'  George 
Duffield  was  so  long  the  pastor.  With  this  venerable  man  it  was  the  privilege  of 
Mr.  Farrand  to  be  on  terms  of  the  most  intimate  intercourse  for  the  period  of 
thirty  years.  In  1856  he  was  ordained  to  the  office  of  ruling  elder  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Detroit,  in  which  position  he  still  remains.  He  was  a 
Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1863  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  of  1869 
at  New  York  and  Pittsburg.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Re 
union  appointed  by  the  Assemblies,  1866,  and  also  of  the  Committee  of  Confer 
ence  on  the  same  subject  appointed  by  the  Assemblies  of  1869.  The  same  As 
semblies  placed  him  on  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  reorganization  of  the  Board  of 
Domestic  Missions.  In  1870  the  General  Assembly  elected  him  member  of  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  North  West,  at  Chicago. 

From  the  time  of  its  appointment  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Synodical  Com 
mittee  of  Church  Erection,  and  he  is  now  on  the  Synodical  Committee  on  the 
Memorial  Fund. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Farrand  was  the  receiving  agent  in  Detroit  of  the  A.  B. 
C.  F.  M.  He  has  been  the  President  of  the  Detroit  City  Missionary  Society,  and 
he  is  now  President  of  the  Wayne  County  Bible  Society. 

He  has  always  been  actively  engaged  in  Sabbath-school  work. 
•  He  has  served  the  State,  as  well  as  the  Church. 

From  1841  to  1845  he  was  deputy  collector  of  customs  for  the  port  and  dis 
trict  of  Detroit,  then  extending  from  below  the  city  of  Detroit,  around  the  shores 
of  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan,  including  the  city  of  Chicago.  On  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  by  the  Legislature  of  Michigan  he  was  appointed 
one  of  the  Commissioners,  and  was  elected  President  of  the  Board,  which  position 
he  still  holds.  For  eight  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  of 
the  city  of  Detroit ;  for  four  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Common  Council 
of  Detroit  — one  year  its  presiding  officer ;  and  for  a  short  time  he  was  the  acting 
Mayor  of  the  city.  For  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Water  Com 
missioners  of  the  city  of  Detroit,  and  is  now  its  President.  He  is  President  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Detroit,  Vice-President  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 


528  PRESBYTEEIAN   REUNION. 

Company,  Treasurer  of  the  Detroit  Gas  Light  Company,  and  since  its  organization 
he  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Harper  Hospital. 

For  forty  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  drug  business. 


IV. 

DOCUMENTS,  ETC. 
1.   THE  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THIS  VOLUME. 

MODERATORS  OF  1837,  1869,   1870. 
THE  REV.  DAVID  ELLIOTT,  D.D.,   LL.D., 

MODERATOR  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  1837,  BEING  THE  LAST  ASSEMBLY 
PREVIOUS    TO   THE    DIVISION. 

DAVID  ELLIOTT, 

Son  of  Thomas  and  Jane  (Holliday)  Elliott,  was  born  February  6,  1787.  His 
parents  were  both  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  whose  ancestors  for  several  gen 
erations,  as  far  as  known,  belonged  to  the  large  Presbyterian  family.  His  father, 
Thomas  Elliott,  was  born  in  Enniskillen,  Fermanagh  County,  Ireland,  but  came 
to  this  country  with  his  parents  when  a  small  boy,  about  the  year  173°-  He  was 
brought  up  in  the  vicinity  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  father  purchased  a 
farm,  on  which  he  resided.  His  ancestors  participated  in  the  conflicts  between 
the  Protestants  under  William  of  Orange  and  the  Roman  Catholics  under  James 
of  England,  in  which  the  Enniskillen  Dragoons  so  greatly  distinguished  themselves. 
Dr.  Elliott's  mother,  Jane  Holliday,  was  born  in  the  County  Down,  in  the  North 
of  Ireland,  and  came  over  to  this  country  with  her  family  some  time  after  his  father. 
When  arrived  at  manhood,  his  father  purchased  and  resided  on  a  farm  some  twenty 
miles  north  of  Carlisle,  in  Sherman's  Valley,  now  Perry  County,  Pa.  There  he 
and  his  mother  became  acquainted  and  were  married.  He  was  their  youngest 
child,  and  was  born  at  the  family  home,  February  6,  1787.  His  early  years  were 
spent  at  home  on  the  farm  until  about  his  fourteenth  year,  much  of  his  time  at 
such  schools  as  the  neighborhood  furnished.  About  that  age  he  commenced  his 
classical  studies  under  the  Rev.  John  Coulter,  pastor  of  a  church  in  Tuscarora  Val 
ley,  Mifflin  County,  Pa.  He  was  a  fine  classical  scholar.  With  him  he  continued 
about  eighteen  months,  when  he  spent  a  year  or  more  in  the  town  of  Mifflin,  under 
the  tuition  of  Andrew  K.  Russell,  afterwards  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 


APPENDIX.  529 

in  the  State  of  Delaware.  Before  he  went  to  college  he  spent  a  year  —  from  April, 
1805,  till  April,  1806  —  in  Washington,  Pa.,  as  an  assistant  teacher  in  the  academy 
there,  in  connection  with  the  Rev.  Matthew  Brown,  afterwards  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Matthew  Brown,  the  distinguished  and  well-known  President  of  Washington,  sub 
sequently  of  Jefferson.  College. 

Having  returned  home  in  April,  1806,  he  entered  Dickinson  College  soon  after, 
and  graduated  in  September,  1808,  having,  before  entering  college,  attended  to 
the  studies  of  the  Freshman  and  Sophomore  classes,  and  prepared  to  enter  the  Junior 
class,  when  he  entered  college.  Soon  after  leaving  college  he  commenced  the 
study  of  theology  under  the  direction  of  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  John  Linn,  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  and  father  of  the  late  James  Linn,  D.  D. ,  of  Bellefonte,  Pa. 
The  latter  part  of  his  course  of  three  years  he  read  under  the  direction  of  the 
Rev.  Joshua  Williams,  D.D.,  of  the  same  Presbytery.  There  were  then  no  Theo 
logical  Seminaries,  but  the  Presbytery  required  three  full  years  of  study  before 
license,  and  the  examinations  in  Presbytery  were  much  more  searching  and  rigorous 
than  at  present. 

Dr.  Elliott  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  in  the  last  week  of  Sep 
tember,  1811,  and  spent  the  following  winter  under  the  direction  of  the  Presbytery 
in  itinerant  labors  within  its  bounds,  in  which  there  was  a  vast  territory  entirely 
destitute  of  the  stated  ministrations  of  the  gospel.  Having  preached  a  few  times 
in  the  church  of  Upper  West  Conococheague,  now  Mercersburg,  a  call  was  made  out 
for  him  and  presented  at  the  spring  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  in  April,  1812,  which 
he  accepted,  and  entered  upon  his  labors,  although  his  ordination  did  not  take 
place  till  the  fall  meeting,  October  jth,  the  Presbytery  meeting  only  twice  in 
the  year.  At  his  ordination,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jno.  McKnight,  previously  of  New 
York,  preached  and  presided,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  McConaughy,  afterwards  Presi 
dent  of  Washington  College,  Pa.,  gave  the  charges  to  both  pastor  and  people. 
Shortly  after  his  acceptance  of  the  call  to  this  church,  May  14,  1812,  he  was. 
married  to  his  late  wife,  Miss  Ann  West. 

In  accepting  the  pastorate  of  this  church,  he  became  the  immediate  successor  of" 
the  Rev.  John  King,  D.D.,  the  fourth  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  A.  D.  1792,  and  a  very  able  man.  Here  he  labored  for 
nearly  eighteen  years.  In  the  fall  of  1829  he  received  and  accepted  a  call  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Washington,  Pa.,  and  removed  there  in  the  month 
of  November  of  that  year.  There  he  became  the  successor  of  the  Rev. 
Obadiah  Jennings,  D.D.,  a  man  well  known  throughout  the  Church,  who  had 
abandoned  a  lucrative  practice  at  the  bar  to  become  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  He  also  was  a  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly,  A.  D.  1822.  When 
Dr.  Elliott  went  to  Washington,  the  college  was  suspended,  and  the  trustees, 
being  anxious  to  resuscitate  it,  offered  him  the  presidency,  which  he  declined  ;  but 
the  Board  not  being  able  to  find  a  man  to  undertake  it,  he  agreed  to  act  as  presi 
dent  until  a  suitable  person  could  be  procured.  That  position  he  occupied  for  a 
year  and  a  half,  assisted  by  two  young  men,  Messrs.  Alrich  and  Smith,  just  com 
mencing  their  professional  career.  Providence  smiled  upon  their  labors,,  and  at 
34 


530  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUOTON. 

the  end  of  eighteen  months  Dr.  Elliott  withdrew,  and  passed  the  college,  with  120 
students,  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  McConaughy,  a  man  of  talents  and  ripe  scholar 
ship,  and  whose  presidency  was  eminently  successful. 

During  his  pastorate  at  Washington,  he  was  elected  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  1835  to  the  professorship  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church  Government 
in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Allegheny.  This,  for  various  reasons,  he 
declined ;  but  at  the  special  and  urgent  solicitation  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  he 
agreed  to  hold  the  appointment  in  his  hand  for  further  consideration  and  consulta 
tion  by  the  friends  of  the  Seminary.  While  in  this  position,  Prof.  Halsey  proposed 
that  if  he,  Dr.  Elliott,  would  come  into  the  Seminary,  he  would  relinquish  the  chair 
of  Theology  and  take  that  which  Dr.  Elliott  had  declined,  but  which  he  preferred. 
In  this  the  Board  of  Directors  joined  him,  and  although  Dr.  Elliott  long  hesitated  as 
to  the  path  of  duty,  he  finally  agreed  to  accept.  This  arrangement  having  been  con 
firmed  by  the  next  General  Assembly,  he  resigned  his  charge  at  Washington,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  in  the  Seminary  on  the  loth  of  June,  1836,  the  number 
of  students  at  that  time  being  about  twenty-five.  The  circumstances  of  the  Sem 
inary  then,  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  were  very  discouraging.  One  professor 
after  another  was  elected,  but  before  long  resigned,  and  left  the  faculty.  Like 
actors  in  a  drama,  they  appeared  on  the  stage,  but  soon  departed — and  Dr. 
Elliott  has  been  heard  to  say  that  he  was  often  tempted  to  go  also.  But  he  felt 
that  the  Institution  was  of  too  great  value  to  the  Church  to  be  thus  abandoned, 
although  at  various  times  scarcely  a  glimmering  of  light  could  be  seen  through  the 
darkness  by  which  it  was  enshrouded.  He  encouraged  the  hope,  however,  that 
the  Head  of  the  Church  would  in  due  time  appear  for  its  deliverance  and  eleva 
tion  to  a  larger  sphere  of  usefulness.  This  hope  has  been  verified,  and  the  Sem 
inary  has  its  thousand  or  more  of  alumni  abroad  in  the  Master's  vineyard,  doing 
their  Master's  work.  To  Him  be  the  praise  ! 

Dr.  Elliott  received  the  degree  of  D.D.  from  Jefferson  College  in  the  year 
1835,  and  that  of  LL.D.  from  Washington  College  in  1847. 

He  has  been  a  warm  friend  of  the  Reunion,  and  lives  to  congratulate  the  Church 
at  the  attainment  of  it,  and  still  brings  forth  fruit  in  old  age  while  training  young 
men  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 

THE  REV.  MELANCTHON  W.  JACOBUS,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  (Old  School),  1869,  being  one  of  the  Assem 
blies  that  prepared  and  sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries  the  Basis  of  Reunion,  which 
was  finally  adopted,  and  the  last  Assembly  known  as  Old  School. 

[From  the  Appendix  Volume  of  The  Princeton  Review.} 

MELANCTHON  WILLIAMS  JACOBUS  was  born  September  19,  1816,  at  Newark, 
N.  J.  He  entered  Princeton  College  (Sophomore  class)  in  his  fifteenth  year,  and 
was  graduated  in  his  eighteenth  year  with  the  first  honors  of  the  College.  After  an 


APPENDIX.  531 

interval  of  a  year  at  home,  he  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton  in 
1835,  and  having  completed  his  course,  he  was  invited  to  remain  as  an  assistant 
to  Prof.  J.  Addison  Alexander,  in  the  Hebrew  department.  He  acted  in  this 
capacity  during  an  academic  year.  When  the  year  was  drawing  to  a  close,  he  re 
ceived  a  unanimous  and  urgent  call  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Brook 
lyn  to  become  its  pastor.  The  church  was  involved  in  the  struggle  which  ensued 
upon  the  rupture  in  1838  in  the  General  Assembly,  and  it  fell  to  his  charge  to 
build  it  up  amidst  very  peculiar  difficulties.  He  was  installed  pastor  in  the  fall 
of  1839.  In  January,  1840,  he  was  married  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  Samuel 
Hayes,  M.  D.,  of  Newark,  N.  J.  He  labored  successfully  in  Brooklyn  during 
eleven  years,  in  which  time  the  church  was  well  established  as  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  churches  of  the  Presbytery.  A  beautiful  and  expensive  edifice  was 
erected  on  Fulton  street,  which  was  afterwards  vacated  for  a  more  quiet  and  cen 
tral  part  of  the  city ;  and  a  superior  sanctuary  of  stone  was  built  on  the  corner  of 
Clinton  and  Remsen  streets,  which  is  still  occupied  by  the  congregation  of  that 
church. 

In  the  fall  of  1850  the  health  of  the  pastor  broke  down  under  the  severe  duties 
of  the  charge,  and  the  church  made  liberal  provision  for  releasing  him,  and  sup 
plying  his  pulpit,  for  a  year's  absence  in  foreign  travel.  He  went  with  his  wife 
through  Europe,  into  Egypt  and  Palestine  and  Syria,  to  Damascus,  returning  by 
Constantinople  and  Greece,  and  arrived  at  home  in  September,  1851,  after  a  year's 
journeying  among  classic  and  Bible  lands,  to  the  great  advantage  of  his  health. 
During  his  absence,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  at  their 
session  in  May,  1851,  elected  him  as  "  Professor  of  Oriental  and  Biblical  Litera 
ture  "  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Allegheny,  Pa.  He  was  now  thirty-six 
years  of  age.  Finding  his  health  inadequate  for  the  pulpit  and  pastoral  work,  and 
feeling  himself  called  of  God  to  enter  upon  the  new  field,  in  an  interior  climate, 
with  furniture  such  as  he  was  known  to  possess  for  the  professorship,  he  entered 
upon  his  duties  in  Allegheny  in  the  opening  of  the  year  1852.  The  Presbytery  of 
New  York,  when  called  upon  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  relation,  made  most  compli 
mentary  notice  of  his  laborious  and  successful  work  in  Brooklyn,  and  few  will  for 
get  the  touching  speech  of  the  venerable  Dr.  Spring  in  making  the  motion.  He 
made  a  second  tour  of  Europe  in  1866. 

Already  in  Brooklyn  in  1848,  during  the  toil  of  his  pastorate,  he  had  prepared 
and  published  his  first  volume  of  "Notes  on  the  New  Testament,"  entitled 
"  Matthew,  with  the  Harmony."  This  volume  was  received  with  so  much  public 
favor,  and  with  the  Catechetical  Question  Book  accompanying,  supplied  so  impor 
tant  a  need,  that,  in  the  Professor's  chair,  with  larger  and  richer  materials  from 
Bible  lands,  where  he  had  made  personal  observation  with  advantage,  he  issued 
a  second  volume,  "  Mark  and  Luke,"  in  May,  1853. 

In  1856  he  published  a  very  valuable  Commentary  on  John;  and  this  was  fol 
lowed  in  1859  with  a  still  more  elaborate  Commentary  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apos 
tles.  In  1862  the  Notes  on  the  Gospels  were  republished  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
by  Messrs.  Oliphant  &  Son.  Their  very  extensive  circulation  in  this  country,  and 


532  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

the  great  favor  with  which  they  were  received  in  the  churches,  warranted  the 
British  publishers  in  this  undertaking. 

In  1864-5,  the  two  volumes  on  Genesis  were  issued  from  the  press  of  the  Ameri 
can  publishers,  the  Messrs.  Carter  of  New  York.  They  evince  great  labor  and  re 
search,  and  in  a  brief  space  furnish  a  mass  of  material.  And  his  special  fitness  for 
this  latest  work,  where  so  many  great  questions  were  to  be  grappled,  at  the  thres 
hold  of  Divine  Revelation,  was  already  indicated  by  his  review  of  "  Bush  on  Gen 
esis"  in  the  Princeton  Review  in  1839. 

In  1852  the  degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Jefferson  College,  and 
he  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  LL.D.  by  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1867. 
He  had  the  happy  distinction  of  being  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1869, 
the  last  Assembly  of  the  Old  School  Church  introducing  the  Reunion.  He  pre 
sided  in  the  great  Assembly  at  New  York,  and  at  the  adjourned  Assembly  at  Pitts- 
burg,  with  marked  dignity,  suavity,  and  success,  and  was  credited  with  having 
made  most  happy  and  eloquent  responses  to  the  several  delegations  from  other 
bodies,  and  from  the  New  School  Assembly ;  and  he  will  be  remembered  not  only 
as  presiding  with  his  brother  Moderator  at  the  Reunion  Jubilee  in  Pittsburg,  but 
as  most  happily  introducing  the  nuptial  formula,  and  appealing  to  the  venerable 
Dr.  Elliott  (Moderator  at  the  disruption)  if  he  knew  of  any  reason,  just  and  suffi 
cient,  why  the  parties  might  not  lawfully  be  united. 

He  is  the  author  of  "Letters  to  Governor  Bigler  (of  Pennsylvania)  on  the  Com 
mon  School  System,"  in  controversy  with  Bishop  O'Connor  of  the  Roman  Catho 
lic  Diocese  of  Pittsburg  ;  also  of  a  tract  on  "  Universal  Salvation,"  published  by 
the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  in  Philadelphia ;  also  of  a  public  debate  with 
Bishop  O'Connor  on  the  relation  of  the  Romish  Church  to  Free  Institutions,  and 
of  a  controversy  with  "The  Pittsburg  Catholic"  (the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Keogh)  on 
"  Indulgences,"  published  in  the  Pittsburg  Despatch. 

In  February,  1858,  Dr.  Jacobus  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Central  Pres 
byterian  Church  of  Pittsburg  (formerly  the  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church,  which  had 
been  dissolved),  and,  beginning  with  a  membership  of  nineteen  persons,  he  has 
gathered  around  him,  during  ten  years,  a  flourishing  and  well-established  church, 
which  he  still  continues  to  serve,  in  addition  to  the  duties  of  his  professorship. 

The  following  articles  are  from  his  pen : 

1839.  Bush  on  Genesis. 

1845.  Concordances. 

THE  REV.  PHILEMON  H.  FOWLER,  D.D., 

Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  (New  School),  1869,  being  one  of  the  Assem 
blies  that  prepared  and  sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries  the  Basis  of  Reunion 
which  was  finally  adopted,  and  the  last  Assembly  known  as  New  School.  [See 
sketches  of  the  members  of  the  Reunion  Committee,  page  516.] 


APPENDIX.  533 


THE  REV.  J.  TRUMBULL  BACKUS,  D.D., 

Moderator  of  the  First  Reunited  General  Assembly.     [See  sketches  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Reunion  Committee,  page  506.] 


CHAIRMEN    OF    THE   REUNION  COMMITTEE    OF    1866. 

The  steel  plate  by  Ritchie,  on  which  are  seen  the  portraits  of  Drs.  Krebs, 
Brainerd,  and  Beatty,  would  have  contained  also  the  portrait  of  Dr.  Adams,  but 
for  the  fact  that  his  picture  appears  in  the  group  of  the  JOINT  COMMITTEE  OF 
CONFERENCE  OF  1869,  in  which  he  labored  so  earnestly  and  successfully,  and  of  which 
he  was  the  chairman.  At  the  request  of  numerous  brethren  of  both  of  the  late 
branches  of  the  Church,  the  place  thus  left  vacant  is  filled  by  the  portrait  of  the 
much-beloved  and  lamented  Dr.  Gurley,  whose  patient  efforts  for  Reunion  all  ac 
knowledge.  Dr.  Krebs  was  the  Chairman  of  the  Reunion  Committee,  Old  School, 
of  1866.  Dr.  Brainerd  was  the  Chairman  of  the  Reunion  Committee,  New 
School,  of  1866.  Dr.  Beatty  succeeded  Dr.  Krebs,  and  Dr.  William  Adams  suc 
ceeded  Dr.  Brainerd.  When  the  Committee  of  each  branch  combined  with  the 
other,  and  both  became  one  Joint  Committee,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beatty  was  elected  as 
its  Chairman,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield  was  chosen  Secretary. 

THE  REV.  JOHN  M.  KREBS,   D.D. 
[See  Biographical  Sketches,  page  178.] 

THE  REV.  THOMAS  BRAINERD,  D.D. 
[See  Biographical  Sketches,  page  227.] 

THE    REV.  PHINEAS  D.  GURLEY,  D.D. 
[See  Biographical  Sketches,  page  188.] 

THE  REV.  CHARLES  C.  BEATTY,  D.D. 
[See  Sketches  of  the  Reunion  Committee  of  1866,  page  505.] 

CONFERENCE  COMMITTEE  OF  1869. 

The  members  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Conference  of  1869,  appointed  by 
the  General  Assemblies  meeting  in  the  Brick  Church  and  the  Church  of  the  Cov 
enant,  New  York,  are  represented  in  this  volume  by  their  portraits  in  groups  of 
five  each.  A  list  of  their  names  may  be  found  on  page  309. 


534  PRESBYTEEIAN   EEUNIOIf. 

VIEWS  OF    CHURCHES,  ETC. 


THE   CERTIFICATE   OF  REUNION. 

This  certificate  was  drawn  up  by  HENRY  DAY,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  whose  ser 
vices  in  the  judicatories  of  the  Church  and  in  the  Committee  of  Conference  of 
1869,  have  greatly  promoted  the  Reunion.  The  document  appears  in  the  hand 
writing  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  McGlLL,  Stated  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly,  Old 
School,  from  1862  to  its  consolidation  with  the  other  branch.  The  signatures  are 
those  of  the  officers  of  the  two  Assemblies  of  1869. 

P.  H.  FOWLER,  Moderator,  N.  S.  M.  W.  JACOBUS,  Moderator,  O.  S. 

EDWIN   F.    HATFIELD,   Stated    Clerk,  ALEX.  T.   McGiLL,   Stated  Clerk, 

N.  S.  O.  S. 

J.  GLENTWORTH   BUTLER,  Permanent  W.   E.  SCHENCK,  Permanent  Clerk, 

Clerk,  N.  S.  O.  S. 

WILLIAM  E.  MOORE,  Temporary  Clerk,  R.   K.   RODGERS,    Temporary  Clerk, 

N.  S.  O.  S. 

GEO.  A.  HOWARD,  Temporary  Clerk,  N.  S. 


OLD  PRINCETON   COLLEGE. 

This  picture  is  a  reproduction  of  the  appearance  of  Princeton  College  as  it 
stood  previous  to  its  first  conflagration.  It  is  taken  from  the  fac-simile  of  a  "  plate 
in  the  new  American  Magazine  for  March,  1760,  published  at  Woodbridge,  in 
New  Jersey."  The  original  plate  has  beneath  the  picture  of  the  college  the 
words,  AULA  NASSOVICA.  Above,  upon  a.  scroll,  is  seen  the  motto,  DEI  SUB 

NUMINE  VlGET. 

Princeton  College  is  dear  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  not  only  because  it  is 
closely  associated  with  its  history  in  this  country,  but  still  more  since  it  has  trained 
so  many  of  its  ministers.  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  owes  its  origin  to 
the  friends  and  patrons  of  Princeton  College,  and  it  is  because  of  its  relations  to 
that  institution  and  to  the  work  of  educating  young  men  for  the  ministry  that  the 
view  of  it  in  its  earlier  days  is  presented. 

A  COMMUNION   GATHERING   IN   THE   OLDEN   TIME. 

Scenes  like  this  were  common  in  the  former  days  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  other  States.  To  the  temple  here  represented  the 
fathers  and  mothers  in  Israel  of  our  early  history  in  this  land  were  wont  to  re 
pair  to  celebrate  the  sacraments : 

"  Not  to  the  dome  where  crumbling  arch  and  column 

Attest  the  feebleness  of  mortal  hand, 
But  to  that  fane  most  catholic  and  solemn 
Which  God  hath  planned." 


APPENDIX.  535 


AUBURN   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

This  picture  is  a  copy  of  an  excellent  stereoscopic  view  of  the  Seminary.  The 
number  of  its  graduates  who  are  now  pastors,  or  sen-ing  the  church  in  other 
spheres  of  usefulness,  is  so  large  that  it  is  believed  many  will  be  pleased  to  see  a 
picture  of  Auburn  Seminary  in  the  Memorial  Volume. 

THIRD   CHURCH,    PITTSBURG,    PA. 

Here  the  General  Assembly,  New  School,  held  its  adjourned  meeting,  Novem 
ber,  1869.  It  was  also  the  scene  of  the  grand  Reunion  Convention  and  Jubilee, 
after  the  declaration  of  the  adoption  of  the  Basis  of  Union,  Friday,  November 
I2th,  1869.  [See  page  382.] 

THE   REV.    ASHBEL  GREEN,   D.D. 

[See  Biographical  Sketches,  page  103.] 

THE  REV.   JAMES   RICHARDS,   D.D. 
[See  Biographical  Sketches,  page  211.] 

CHURCH  OF    THE   COVENANT,    NEW  YORK. 
Here  the  General  Assembly,  New  School,  of  1869  met.     [See  page  331.] 

FIRST  CHURCH,    PITTSBURG,    PA. 

Here  the  General  Assembly,  Old  School,  held  its  adjourned  meeting,  Novem 
ber,  1869.  [See  page  374.] 

FIRST  CHURCH,    PHILADELPHIA, 

Here  the  First  Reunited  General  Assembly  convened,  May,  1870.  [See  page 
416.] 

BRICK  CHURCH,    NEW  YORK. 

In  this  church  the  General  Assembly,  Old  School,  of  1869  convened.  [See 
Page  331.] 

2.    PAPER    PREPARED    AND    SIGNED    BY    MEMBERS    OF    THE 
GENERAL   ASSEMBLY,  OLD    SCHOOL,  AND   OTHERS,  NEW- 

ARK,     N.     J.,   1864,    REFERRED     TO    ON    PAGE    250. 

NEWARK,    N.  J.,  May  27,  1864. 

The  ministers  and  elders  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  represented  by  the  General 
Assembly  now  in  session  in  this  city,  feel  called  upon  to  express  their  confident 


536  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

conviction  that  the  time  has  come  when  measures  should  be  initiated  to  promote 
the  reunion  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  which  were  separated 
in  1838.  The  questions  over  which  they  differed  and  divided  have  mainly  passed 
away.  They  adopt  the  same  views  in  opposition  to  slavery.  There  is  now  no 
difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  propriety  of  ecclesiastical  supervision  in  con 
ducting  educational  and  missionary  operations.  After  having  been  separated  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  they  adhere  alike  to  the  old  constitution. 
Their  ministers  and  ruling  elders  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith  in  the 
use  of  some  prescribed  form.  Whatever  differences  in  doctrine  may  have  existed 
at  the  time  of  separation  there  is  reason  to  believe  have  mainly  passed  away.  It 
is  believed  that  the  great  majority  in  each  branch  "sincerely  receive  and  adopt  the 
Confession  of  Faith,  as  containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Scriptures," 
and  approve  of  the  same  government  and  discipline.  On  this  basis  we  may  re 
unite,  mutually  regarding  and  treating  the  office-bearers  and  church  courts  of  each 
as  co-ordinate  elements  in  the  reconstruction. 

There  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  repairing  the  breaches  of  Zion  which  must 
be  met  and  overcome  by  well-considered  methods  and  in  a  spirit  of  forbearance 
and  prudence.  Reunion  cannot  be  accomplished,  nor  is  it  to  be  desired,  without 
the  restoration  of  a  spirit  of  unity  and  fraternity.  We  believe  that  this  spirit 
exists,  and  is  constantly  increasing.  That  which  should  first  engage  the  attention 
of  the  friends  of  reunion  should  be  to  find  out  how  far  unity  of  sentiment  and  kind 
ness  of  feeling  prevail.  Where  these  exist,  they  should  be  cherished  and  strength 
ened  by  meeting  together  for  the  purpose  of  interchanging  views,  and  using  means 
for  final  union. 

By  way  of  ascertaining  the  views  of  the  ministers,  ruling  elders,  and  churches, 
and  of  calling  out,  organizing,  and  concentrating  public  sentiment,  so  as  to  open 
the  way  for  organic  union  as  speedily  as  possible,  we  propose  the  following 
measures : 

1.  We  recommend  to  Presbyteries  and  Synods  the  appointment  of  correspond 
ing  delegates  to  attend  the  Presbyteries  and  Synods  of  the  other  branch,  as  a  meas 
ure  adapted  to  develop  and  promote  the  spirit  of  union. 

2.  We  recommend   union   meetings   of  Presbyteries  and   Synods  of  the  two 
bodies  wherever  practicable,  such  as  were  held  by  the  Presbyteries  of  St.  Law 
rence  and  Ogdensburg,  as  furnishing  the  best  means  of  ascertaining  how  far  a  spirit 
of  kindness  and  confidence  has  been  restored,  and  to  what  extent  a  desire  for  re 
union  prevails. 

3.  We  recommend  that  Church  Sessions,  Presbyteries,  and  Synods  that  are  in 
favor  of  reunion  take  action  on  the  subject,  and  express  and  publish  their  views. 

4.  We  recommend  conventions  of  the  friends  of  reunion  at  important  points, 
to  be  composed  of  ministers,  ruling  elders,  and  others,  to  consult  together  and  to 
declare  their  views. 

5.  We  respectfully  request  the  conductors  of  the  religious  journals  of  the  two 
Churches  to  open  their  columns  to  the  publication  of  communications  and  reports 
of  church  courts  and  other  meetings  in  favor  of  reunion. 


APPENDIX.  537 

6.  We  would  recommend  to  all  concerned  to  discourage  the  organization  of 
weak  churches  of  the  two  branches,  where  only  one  is  needed  and  can  be  sup 
ported,  and  especially  where  missionary  aid  is  required  to  sustain  them ;  and  we 
commend  the  union  of  such  churches  where  they  exist. 

7.  We  recommend,  in  the  language   of  the   General  Assembly   of   1863,   at 
Peoria,  "  That  the  ministers  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Church  cultivate  frater 
nal  intercourse  and  free  interchange  of  views,  and  in  all  suitable  ways  encourage 
and  aid  one  another  in  the  appropriate  work  of  the  ministry  ;  and  that  the  mem 
bers  of  the  one  or  the  other  branch  connect  themselves  with  existing  congregations 
of  either,  rather  than  give  their  influence  and  their  aid  to  bodies  whose  princi 
ples  and  form  of  government  are  foreign  to  their  own." 

8.  We  earnestly  recommend  to  all  to  seek,   by  prayer  to  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  that  the  Divine  blessing  may  rest  upon  all  efforts  for  the  accomplishment 
of  this  desirable  object. 

MINISTERS  —  Septimus  Tustin,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  J.  G.  Monfort,  Cincin 
nati,  Ohio  ;  T.  N.  Haskell,  First  Church,  East  Boston ;  J.  A.  Steel,  Topeka, 
Kansas ;  W.  S.  Rogers,  Oxford,  Ohio ;  George  Hale,  Pennington,  N.  J. ;  Shel 
don  Jackson,  Rochester,  Minn.;  A.  McElwain,  Indiana,  Pa.;  N.  V.  Morrow, 
Van  Buren,  Ohio  ;  Arthur  Burtis,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  L.  Merrill  Miller,  Ogdens- 
burg,  N.  Y.;  Alfred  Nevin,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  George  C.  Bush,  Hackettstown, 
N.  J.;  A.  O.  Rockwell,  Pittsburg,  Pa.;  E.  B.  Raffensperger,  Toledo,  Ohio; 
Samuel  Steel,  Hillsboro,  Ohio;  Alfred  Taylor,  Bristol,  Pa.;  W.  B.  Stewart, 
Pottstown,  Pa.;  C.  V.  McKaig,  Candor,  Pa.;  S.  McC.  Anderson,  Davenport, 
Iowa;  J.  H.  Pratt,  Athens,  Ohio;  John  Johnson,  Sybertsville,  Pa.;  Emilius 
Grand  Girard,  Ripley,  Ohio  ;  John  Robinson,  Ashland,  Ohio  ;  M.  L.  Wortman, 
Perrysville,  Pa. ;  A.  E.  Thomson,  Marysville,  Ohio ;  Thomas  W.  Hynes,  Green 
ville,  111. ;  E.  W.  Wright,  Delphi,  Indiana ;  C.  K.  Thomson,  Lebanon,  Indiana ; 
Thomas  S.  Crowe,  Jeffersonville,  Indiana ;  J.  M.  Stevenson,  New  York,  N.  Y.; 
B.  Johnson,  Oxford,  Wis.;  William  C.  Roberts,  Columbus,  Ohio;  J.  H.  Mc- 
Ilvaine,  Princeton,  N.  J. ;  E.  Wilson,  Philadelphia,  Pa,;  J.  W.  Heynes,  Hudson, 
Michigan  ;  M.  Barrett,  Newton,  N.  J.;  H.  L.  Craven,  St.  Charles,  Minn.;  J.  D. 
Paxton,  Princeton,  Indiana  ;  D.  A.  Wilson,  Ironton,  Mo.;  S.  M.  Templeton, 
Delavan,  Illinois;  W.  R.  Marshall,  Baltimore,  Md.;  Wilson  Phraner,  Sing  Sing, 
N.  Y.;  Joseph  F.  Fenton,  Washington,  Mo.;  B.  S.  Everett,  Stroudsburg,  Pa.; 
Alex.  McA.  Thorburn,  Malta,  N.  Y.;  Algernon  Sydney  MacMaster,  Poland, 
Ohio;  James  A.  McKee,  St.  Anthony,  Minn.;  James  Allison,  Pittsburg,  Pa.;  J. 
H.  Nixon,  Indianapolis,  Indiana;  Randolph  A.  De  Lancey,  Boston,  Mass.;  I.  N. 
Rendall,  Oneida  Valley,  N.  Y.;  W.  T.  Adams,  El  Paso,  Illinois;  Jos.  Platt, 
Waveland,  Indiana;  Edsall  Ferrier,  Florida,  N.  Y.;  S.  H.  Stevenson,  Granville, 
Illinois;  M.  A.  Hoge,  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Joseph  W.  Hubbard,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.; 
E.  Slack,  Cincinnati,  Ohio  ;  N.  C.  Burt,  Cincinnati,  Ohio ;  I.  N.  Candee,  Gales- 
burg,  Illinois;  Bellville  Roberts,  Rochester,  N.  Y.;  S.  F.  Scovel,  Springfield, 
Ohio;  John  Wray,  Rockdale  Mills,  Pa. ;  James  Tully,  BaUstown  Spa,  N.  Y.; 


538  PKESBYTEKIAN   REUNION. 

Edward  E.  Rankin,  Newark,  N.  J. ;  Samuel  J.  Baird,  Woodbury,  N.  J. ;  John  Y. 
Allison,  Arcola,  Illinois ;  David  M.  James,  Budd's  Lake,  N.  Y. 

RULING  ELDERS  —  Cyrus  Falconer,  Hamilton,  Ohio ;  Daniel  Kelley,  Buffalo, 
N.  Y. ;  J.  M.  Chambers,  Burlingame,  Kansas ;  W.  Shepard,  Rochester,  N.  Y. ; 
E.  Crosby,  Bath,  N.  Y.;  Joseph  Gorrell,  Ossian,  Indiana;  Nehemiah  Dodge,  Mt. 
Joy,  Pa. ;  E.  J.  Beall,  New  Philadelphia,  Ohio  ;  J.  G.  Allen,  East  Springdale, 
Ohio  ;  Robert  W.  Pratt,  Salem,  Illinois ;  Stanley  Matthews,  Cincinnati,  Ohio ; 
Wm.  Taylor,  Findley,  Ohio ;  Noah  Evans,  Hillsboro,  Ohio  ;  W.  Seawright, 
Frankfort,  Indiana ;  A.  J.  Hays,  Charleston,  Indiana ;  Martin  Ryerson,  Newton, 
N.  J.;  T.  W.  Lockwood,  Detroit,  Michigan  ;  Charles  N.  Todd,  Indianapolis, 
Indiana  ;  John  Morehouse,  Dayton,  Ohio  ;  George  Hurlbut,  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y. ; 
W.  Helphenstein,  Washington,  Ind.;  J.  W.  Sutherland,  Kirkwood,  Mo.;  B.  S. 
Disbrow,  Trenton,  N.  J. ;  James  Patton,  Reemersburg,  Pa.;  James  II.  Wilson, 
Prairie  City,  Illinois ;  James  Ayers,  Toulon,  Illinois ;  Thompson  Bell,  Zurick, 
Iowa ;  Matthias  Osborn,  New  Providence,  N.  J. ;  Eustus  II.  Smith,  St.  Louis, 
Mo.;  John  S.  Furst,  Cedar  Springs,  Pa.;  James  M.  Briggs,  Mt.  Gilead,  Ohio; 
Wm.  Byram,  Liberty,  Indiana;  J.  W.  Kennicutt,  Boston,  Mass.;  S.  Wittlesey, 
Toledo,  Ohio;  J.  H.  McGrew,  Piqua,  Ohio;  J.  H.  Whiting,  Mt.  Pleasant, 
Iowa ;  James  P.  Wallace,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Charles  E.  Lathrop,  Washington, 
D.C.;  A.  Eldridge,  North  White  Creek,  N.  Y.;  John  Ogden,  Milwaukee,  Wiscon 
sin  ;  James  Rankin,  Dunningsville,  Pa.;  Charles  Fuller,  Scranton,  Pa.;  John  D. 
Stokes,  Beaver,  Pa. 

i 
3.  THE  PITTSBURG  CIRCULAR,  1868.     REFERRED  TO  ON  PAGE  326. 

This  circular,  it  is  believed,  exerted  an  important  influence  in  behalf  of  the  Re 
union,  and  paved  the  way  for  its  general  acceptance  upon  the  basis  finally  adopted. 
The  idea  of  issuing  it  was  originally  suggested  by  the  Rev.  James  Allison,  D.D., 
editor  of  the  PRESBYTERIAN  BANNER.  It  was  projected  in  its  present  form  by 
Drs.  Paxton,  A.  A.  Hodge,  and  Jacobus,  Drs.  Allison,  McKinney,  and  others 
consenting.  The  first  part  of  the  paper  was  written  by  the  Rev.  A.  A.  Hodge, 
D.D.,  and  the  remaining  portion  by  Dr.  Allison.  A  few  verbal  alterations  were 
afterwards  made  by  the  brethren  who  were  present  at  the  meeting  at  which  it  was 
signed. 

CIRCULAR   ON   REUNION. 

The  late  General  Assembly,  which  held  its  sessions  in  Albany,  after  having  re 
ferred  the  Basis  reported  by  the  Joint  Committee  to  the  consideration  of  the  pres 
byteries,  declared,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  their  decided  preference  for  the  Common 
Standards  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  without  qualifying  clauses  of  any  kind,  as 
the  doctrinal  basis  of  the  reunited  Church.  When  this  was  reported  to  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  sitting  in  Harrisburg,  although  by  reason  of  the  previous  departure 
of  many  of  their  members  they  were  unable  formally  to  reconsider  their  former 


APPENDIX.  539 

action,  yet  by  a  very  large  majority  of  their  remaining  members  they  also  ex 
pressed  their  preference  for  the  change  proposed. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  the  undersigned  desire  to  make  known  their  very  decided 
agreement  with  both  these  General  Assemblies  in  preferring  that  the  Westminster 
Confession  and  Catechisms,  without  qualification,  should  be  the  only  doctrinal 
basis  of  the  reunited  church  in  the  future. 

1.  Because  the  Common  Standards,  without  qualification,  have  been  from  the 
first  the  basis  of  both  churches,  and  their  adoption  consequently  will  involve  no 
sacrifice  of  principle  nor  of  consistency  upon  the  part  of  either. 

2.  Because  it  is  known  to  have  been  the  first  choice  of  our  New  School  breth 
ren,  and  is  now  preferred  by  an  overwhelming  majority  of  both  branches. 

3.  Because  its  adoption  in  preference  to  the  Doctrinal  Basis  reported  by  the 
Joint  Committee  will  conciliate  the  cheerful  acquiescence  of  very  many  who  acted 
with  the  minority  in  the  late  General  Assembly. 

4.  Because  it  has  already  been   approved  by  the  New  School,  Old  School, 
United,   and  Reformed  Presbyterians  in  the  Philadelphia  Convention,   and  its 
adoption  will  therefore  greatly  facilitate  the  ultimate  reunion  of  all  branches  of 
the  hitherto  divided  Presbyterian  family  in  the  United  States. 

5.  Because  it  will  avoid  all  ground  of  litigation  with  respect  to  church  property 
of  every  kind. 

6.  And,  finally,  because  the  adoption  of  the  common  Confession  and  Catechism, 
without  qualifying  clauses,  will  facilitate  instead  of  delaying  our  reunion  with  the 
other  branch;  since,  as  the  adoption  of  this  basis  involves  the  creation  of  no  new 
"constitutional  rule,"  nor  any  modification  in  any  pre-existent  rule,  it  is  self- 
evident  that,  provided  it  is  in  the  meantime  indicated  as  the  preference  of  the 
Church,  it  may  be  adopted  by  the  two  General  Assemblies  of  1869,  and  made  the 
basis  of  reunion  by  a  simple  resolution. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  adoption  of  the  doctrinal  basis  reported  by  the  Joint 
Committee,  however  well  intended,  may  be  divisive  in  its  tendency.  It  is  very 
complex  in  its  terms,  and  is  already  interpreted  in  different  senses  by  different 
parties.  It  is  a  new  basis,  altering,  in  terms  at  least,  if  not  in  spirit,  the  established 
formula  of  subscription.  Being  a  modification  of  the  ancient  constitutional  form 
of  subscription,  it  cannot  be  made  binding  by  a  mere  resolution  of  the  General 
Assemblies,  but  must  receive,  according  to  the  plan  of  the  Joint  Committee,  the 
suffrages  of  three-fourths  of  the  presbyteries  of  both  branches.  It  is  the  first 
choice  of  neither  party.  It  is  more  or  less  seriously  objected  to  by  a  large  por 
tion  of  the  Old  School,  and  is  conscientiously  protested  against  by  a  respectable 
minority.  It  is  believed  to  be  especially  distasteful  to  the  great  body  of  the 
United  and  Reformed  Presbyterians,  and  its  adoption  by  us  would  therefore  em 
barrass  and  tend  to  postpone  our  reunion  with  them. 

Therefore  we  recommend  that  the  presbyteries  adopt,  as  far  as  they  may  be 
able,  the  other  parts  of  the  basis,  and  that  all  presbyteries  which  may  prefer  this 
proposed  article  to  the  one  now  in  the  basis  of  agreement  give  expression  of  their 
desire  that  the  two  branches  should  unite  on  this  basis;  and  that  presbyteries 


540  PEESBYTEEIAN   EEUNION. 

which  may  prefer  the  basis  of  the  Joint  Committee,  but  who  are  -willing  to  unite 
on  the  basis  proposed,  give  expression  to  that  willingness,  asking  that  if  it  shall 
appear  that  a  majority  of  the  presbyteries  desire  the  doctrinal  basis  here  proposed, 
or  are  willing  to  accept  it,  the  General  Assembly  may  adopt  such  measures  as,  in 
its  wisdom,  may  be  deemed  best  to  secure  the  concurrence  of  the  General  Assem 
bly  of  the  other  branch  ;  and  that  the  stated  clerks  of  the  presbyteries  report  their 
action  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

We  hereby  most  respectfully  ask  our  Committee  on  Reunion,  whose  prudence, 
wisdom,  patience,  and  great  desire  to  act  so  as  to  subserve  the  highest  interests  of 
the  Church  we  most  highly  appreciate,  either  by  correspondence  or  personal  inter 
course  with  the  Committee  on  Reunion  of  the  New  School,  to  secure  a  recom 
mendation  to  the  presbyteries  of  both  branches,  to  adopt  the  suggestion  made 
above,  so  that  simultaneous  and  undivided  action  may  be  taken  by  the  presbyteries 
in  both  branches. 

MINISTERS. 

DAVID  McKlNNEY,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

DAVID  ELLIOTT,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

W.  B.  MclLVAlNE,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

S.  C.  LOGAN,  Lake  Presbytery. 

JAMES  I.  BROWNSON,  Washington  Presbytery. 

J.  B.  BlTTlNGER.  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

JAMES  M.  PLATT,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

RICHARD  LEA,  Ohio  Presbytery, 

S.  M.  HENDERSON,  Blairsville  Presbytery. 

ROBERT  CAROTHERS,  Blairsville  Presbytery. 

ELLIOTT  E.  SWIFT,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

JOHN  GILLESPIE,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

W.  W.  EELLS,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

A.  A.  HODGE,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

JNO.  LAUNITZ,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

C  V.  McKAlG,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

JAMES  ALLISON,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

WILLIAMSON  S.  WRIGHT,    Logansport  Presbytery. 

S.  F.  SCOVEL,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

A.  C.  MCCLELLAND,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

JOHN  KERR,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

S.  J.  WILSON,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

M.  W.  JACOBUS,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

J.  E.  WRIGHT,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

L.  R.  McABOY,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

T.  X.  ORR,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

JOSEPH  SMITH,  Blairsville  Presbytery. 


APPEKDIX.  541 

W.  D.  HOWARD,  Ohio  Presbytery, 

JAMES  A.  REED,  Wooster  Presbytery. 

A.  M.  REID,  Steubenville  Presbytery. 

WM.  A.  WEST,  Carlisle  Presbytery. 

'"i 

RULING   ELDERS. 

JOHN  SAMPLE,  Blairsville  Presbytery. 

DAVID  ROBINSON,  Ohio  Presbytery. 

T.  H.  NEVIN,  Allegheny  City  Presbytery. 

J.  B.  FINLAY,  Saltsburg  Presbytery. 

PITTSBURG,  PA.,  June  25,  1868. 

4.    SPEECH   OF   THE  REV.  GEORGE  W.  MUSGRAVE,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

IN  PRESENTING  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  CONFERENCE, 
ETC.,  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY,  OLD  SCHOOL,  1869.  REFERRED  TO  ON 
PAGE  348. 

The  following  speech  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Musgrave,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Chairman  of  the  O.  S.  Committee  of  Conference,  on  the  occasion  of  the  presenta 
tion  of  the  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Conference,  to  the  Old  School  General 
Assembly  sitting  in  the  Brick  Church  in  the  City  of  New  York,  May  27th,  1869  : 

MR.  MODERATOR, —  It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  report  a  Plan  of 
Union  between  what  are  known  as  the  Old  and  New  School  bodies,  and  to  be  able 
to  say  that  our  report  is  unanimous,  and  is  signed  by  every  member  of  each  Com 
mittee.  The  Joint  Committee  report  three  papers  to  the  Assembly.  The  first  is 
a  Plan  of  Union,  containing  the  Basis,  which  will  be  sent  down  to  the  Presby 
teries  for  their  acceptance  or  rejection.  The  second  paper  is  a  declaration,  made 
that  there  may  be  a  good  understanding  between  the  two  branches.  This  paper 
is  not  a  compact  or  covenant,  but  is  a  recommendation  of  certain  arrangements  as 
to  Seminaries,  Boards,  etc.  It  is  no  part  of  the  Basis  or  Terms  of  Union.  It 
only  recommends  certain  arrangements  as  suitable  to  be  adopted.  The  third  pa 
per  is  one  recommending  a  day  of  prayer  to  Almighty  God  for  his  guidance  and 
presence,  that  Presbyteries  may  be  under  the  Divine  influence  when  they  come  to 
vote  upon  this  momentous  question.  The  report  has  been  printed,  and  will  be 
distributed  as  soon  as  read.  It  has  not  been  circulated  before,  because  it  was 
feared  that  members  would  be  so  much  engaged  in  the  reading  of  it  that  they  would 
not  listen  to  it  with  sufficient  attention.  I  will  now  call  upon  the  Secretary  of  the 
Committee  to  read  the  Report. 

[The  Report  having  been  read,  Dr.  Musgrave  proceeded  :] 

I  have  already,  Mr.  Moderator,  made  a  very  brief  explanation  of  the  character 
of  the  three  papers  submitted  by  the  Joint  Committee.  But  I  wish  to  make  a  few 
additional  remarks  with  respect  to  each  of  them  consecutively. 

The  first  paper,  as  you  will  notice,  is  the  Plan  of  Union,  containing  the  basis 
upon  which  it  is  proposed  this  union  shall  be  effected.  That  basis  is  to  be  over- 


542  PKESBYTEKIAN    REUNION. 

tured  to  the  Presbyteries,  and  is  the  only  paper  which  will  be  sent  down  to  the 
Presbyteries  to  be  acted  upon  by  them.  This  basis  is  our  common  Standards  —  is 
the  Confession  of  Faith,  including,  of  course,  the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms, 
agreeably  to  former  decisions  of  the  General  Assembly,  they  being  regarded  as  in 
cluded  in  the  expression,  "  our  Standards." 

REUNION   ON  THE  STANDARDS. 

Now,  sir,  this  is  simple.  We  shall  have  but  one  question  before  us.  Are  we 
prepared  to  approve  of  the  reunion  of  these  two  Assemblies  upon  the  simple  ba 
sis,  the  Confession  of  Faith,  our  common  Form  of  Government  and  Discipline, 
the  doctrines  and  the  polity  which  both  of  the  branches  receive  and  adopt  ?  Well, 
sir,  I  am  compelled  to  say  that,  much  as  I  have  desired  this  union  for  great  objects 
and  for  the  glory  of  God,  I  would  never  have  given  my  consent  to  this  union  upon 
any  other  conceivable  basis.  My  objection  to  all  the  overtures  heretofore  sent 
down  was  that  they  add  something  to  the  Standards ;  and,  to  say  the  least,  they 
were  ambiguous,  were  liable  to  be  differently  construed,  and,  in  my  judgment, 
opened  the  door  for  the  introduction  of  errors  which  no  sound  Calvinist  will  ever 
agree  to  endorse.  Give  us  our  pure,  time-honored,  scriptural  Standards,  and  then 
we  can  all  stand  upon  them  as  the  rock  upon  which  our  fathers  have  ever  stood, 
and  upon  which  I  pray  Almighty  God  our  successors  will  ever  stand  till  the  end 
of  time.  Now,  sir,  we  have  had  a  frank  and  a  very  kind  interchange  of  opinions 
in  the  Committee.  We  have  been,  as  your  representatives,  allow  me  to  say,  faith 
ful  to  the  trust  committed  to  us,  loyal  to  Christ  and  to  God's  truth.  We  have 
said  that  when  we  make  the  Standards  the  basis  of  this  union,  we  mean  what  we 
say  —  these  Standards,  nothing  else,  nothing  more,  and  nothing  less.  We  have 
said  that  we  mean  to  maintain  the  system  of  doctrines  taught  in  those  Standards, 
because  we  believe  them  to  be  according  to  God's  Word,  with  constancy  and 
fidelity.  In  other  words,  we  meant  and  wanted  to  be  understood  that  we  never 
intended  to  allow  brethren  to  impair  the  integrity  of  that  system.  If  any  such 
errors  are  propagated,  those  who  are  engaged  in  it  must  expect  to  be  disciplined. 
We  will  maintain,  God  helping  us,  the  purity  of  doctrines  taught  in  our  blessed 
Confession.  That  is  distinctly  understood,  and  I  rejoice  that  in  the  preamble  to 
one  of  the  papers  we  distinctly  announce  that  we  recognize  each  other  as  sound  and 
orthodox  bodies,  thus  advertising  to  all  the  world  that  the  reason  why  these  two 
great  branches  of  the  Church  are  to  be  united  is  because  we  believe  each  other  to 
be  orthodox,  and  sound  in  the  faith.  So  that  it  must  be  plain  enough  that  a  uni 
ted  Church,  founded  upon  our  Confession,  each  branch  recognizing  the  other  as 
sound  and  orthodox,  will  never  tolerate  heresy.  Why,  sir,  I  have  not  changed  my 
theological  views  and  my  conscientious  convictions  of  duty  in  the  least  degree  in  re 
gard  to  that,  and  though  I  may  not  live  long,  I  will  endeavor,  as  in  the  past,  by 
God's  grace,  to  defend  and  maintain  the  purity  of  our  doctrines.  That  is  under 
stood,  that  we  receive  the  Confession  sincerely,  and  that  we  mean  to  maintain  and 
defend  it. 


APPENDIX.  543 

On  the  other  hand  we  have  understood  each  other  on  the  question  of  liberty. 
We  have  said  to  our  brethren,  "  You  have  possibly  misunderstood  our  branch. 
You,  through  some  representations  made  in  the  papers  by  anonymous  writers  es 
pecially,  have  received  the  impression  that  the  Old  School  church  will  tolerate  no 
difference  of  opinion  ;  that  we  are  obliged,  every  man  as  before  his  God,  to  accept 
the  ipsissima  verba  theory ;  and  that  any  man  who  undertakes  to  review,  or  to 
state  or  illustrate  doctrines  in  any  degree  different  from  those  of  Princeton,  for 
instance,  is  to  be  considered  as  a  heretic,  and  to  be  disciplined."  Well,  we  have 
disabused  them  of  that.  We  have  said,  "  Brethren,  there  have  always  been 
shades  of  difference  in  the  Old  School  Church ;  and  in  a  body  of  such  intelligent 
and  conscientious  men  there  must  of  necessity  be  differences  of  opinion."  Why, 
sir,  as  long  as  men  think  at  all  —  and  may  the  day  never  come  when  one  man  shall 
think  for  all  the  rest  —  as  long  as  men  think,  they  will  differ  in  some  respects. 
Now,  sir,  we  have  said  to  them  that  we  understand  that  there  is  to  be  allowed  in 
this  united  Church  a  reasonable  degree  of  liberty ;  that  men  are  not  to  be  made 
offenders  for  a  word  ;  that  we  will  not  encourage  persecution,  or  needless  prose 
cution,  if  you  prefer  it,  but  will  allow  just  such  liberty  hi  the  united  Church  as  has 
been  freely  allowed  in  the  Old  School  branch  of  the  Church.  Well,  that  satisfied 
them.  Now,  sir,  we  understand  each  other.  We  are  both  sound,  orthodox  bodies, 
pledged  to  that  old  Confession,  understanding  each  other  that  we  mean  to  main 
tain  it  in  its  integrity ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  we  will  allow  all  reasonable 
differences  of  opinion  —  that  is  to  say,  such  differences  as  are  consistent  with  main 
taining  the  integrity  of  the  system.  No  opinion  is  to  be  tolerated  that  would  be 
subversive  of  our  system  of  doctrine.  Thus  we  arrived  at  a  harmonious  conclu 
sion,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  every  man  in  that  Joint  Committee  agreed  that 
this  was  fair  and  just,  and  I  think  it  is.  What  more  can  we  ask  than  that  this  ba 
sis  should  be  our  common  Standards,  with  this  understanding  between  the  parties, 
that  it  is  not  to  be  received  insincerely,  with  reserve;  that  there  is  to  be  no  tole 
ration  of  material  doctrinal  differences,  while  a  reasonable  liberty  will  be  allowed  ? 
I  thank  God  that  we  have  reached  this  result.  Now  I  can  subscribe  to  it  for  one, 
with  all  my  heart ;  and,  sir,  I  would  be  glad  if  the  other  Calvinistic  and  Presby 
terian  bodies  would  unite  with  us  upon  this  same  broad,  solid,  scriptural  basis. 


WHY   REFER   TO   THE   PRESBYTERIES  ? 

Now,  you  will  ask  why  the  Committee  recommended  that  this  Basis  should  be 
sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries,  and  why  we  did  not  propose  to  consummate  this 
union  here  and  now.  Well,  a  word  of  explanation.  I  think  our  Committee  were 
of  opinion  that,  if  it  had  been  expedient,  these  two  General  Assemblies  would  have 
the  constitutional  right  to  effect  this  union  at  once.  That  is  certainly  the  opinion 
of  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee.  And  though  I  have  great  respect  for  those 
who  have  expressed  a  different  judgment,  nevertheless  God  has  so  made  me  that  I 
am  obliged  to  do  my  own  thinking.  Often  I  can  agree  with  Princeton ;  I  am  very 


544  PEESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

happy  to  agree  with  the  brethren  I  respect  and  love,  and  with  whom  I  have  co 
operated,  some  of  them  at  least,  for  forty  years  or  more.  But  I  must  somehow 
or  other  do  my  own  thinking,  and  I  believe  that  this  Assembly  has  the  right  to 
consummate  this  union  at  once,  if  it  chose  to  do  so,  because  there  is  no  constitu 
tional  change  proposed.  Yes,  if  you  have  a  Smith  or  a  Gurley  amendment,  if  you 
have  anything  else  than  the  simple  Confession,  then  I  agree  that  in  order  to  make 
it  legal  the  change  must  be  approved  by  the  Presbyteries ;  but  when  no  constitu 
tional  change  is  proposed,  there  is  no  necessity  for  that. 

Then,  second,  we  have  precedent.  Now  we  know  that  it  has  been  argued 
that,  although  the  Associate  Reformed  Church  was  united  without  sending  the 
question  down  by  overture  to  the  Presbyteries,  yet  it  was  a  small  body.  Why, 
Mr.  Moderator,  that  is  strange  logic  to  me  !  Does  the  size  of  a  body  affect  the 
principle  involved?  If  the  Assembly  had  the  constitutional  right  to  unite  with 
that  independent  denomination,  without  asking  leave  of  the  Presbyteries,  cer 
tainly  the  size  of  the  body  does  not  affect  the  principle.  Theft  is  theft,  whether  a 
man  steal  a  penny  or  a  million ;  and  so  with  everything  else. 

Ah,  but  then  it  is  said  that  that  reference  is  unfortunate,  because  the  union  was 
unhappy  !  Why,  that  is  still  stranger  logic  to  me  !  What  would  you  think, 
Moderator,  of  a  man  who  would  gravely  undertake  to  argue  that  the  consumma 
tion  of  a  certain  marriage  was  unlawful,  because  the  union  of  the  parties  was  un 
happy  ?  Is  there  any  logic  in  that  ?  Certainly  not.  I  am  clearly  of  opinion  that 
this  Assembly  would  have  had  the  right  to  do  it. 

Well,  then,  even  admitting  that  in  a  case  of  this  sort,  where  such  great  interests 
are  involved,  it  would  be  proper  to  consult  the  Presbyteries  before  consummating 
union,  has  not  this  been  done  ?  Have  you  not,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  already  over- 
tured  the  Presbyteries  twice  ?  Has  not  a  large  majority  of  your  Presbyteries  de 
clared,  in  answer  to  your  overtures,  that  they  approve  this  union,  provided  you 
would  omit  one  or  two  amendments  in  the  first  article  ?  Now,  I  submit  that  it 
looks  to  me  something  like  a  quibble  to  say  that  the  thing  has  not  been  overtured. 
It  has  been.  The  Presbyteries  have  answered,  and  they  have  said,  "  Yes,  you 
may  do  it ;  we  will  approve  of  it,  provided  you  will  omit  one  or  two  amendments 
in  the  first  or  doctrinal  article." 

Well,  notwithstanding  such  are  my  own  views,  and  I  believe  I  am  expressing  the 
views  of  the  entire  Committee  of  Conference  appointed  by  you,  nevertheless  we 
thought  that  it  would  not  be  expedient  to  undertake  to  consummate  the  union  at 
once.  Some  thirty,  perhaps  speaking  correctly,  as  some  gentleman  has  undertaken 
to  count  them,  thirty-one  Presbyteries,  some  of  them  the  largest  and  intellectually 
and  morally  among  the  most  influential  in  our  body,  have  said  that  this  thing 
would  be  either  unconstitutional,  for  that  was  the  voice  of  some,  and  in  others 
that  it  would  not  be  judicious  or  wise,  and  they  have  insisted  upon  it  that  it  ought 
to  be  overtured  to  them  before  it  is  consummated.  Well,  sir,  it  was  our  opinion, 
decidedly  my  own,  that  we  ought  to  defer  to  the  views  and  the  feelings  of  these 
brethren,  and  send  the  thing  down  to  them.  Why,  sir,  we  don't  want  an  inhar 
monious  union.  We  don't  want  to  get  up  a  contest  at  the  very  outset  with  regard 


UNIVERSITY 


to  the  constitutionality  of  the  union  when  it  is  perfected.  We  don't  want  to  sour 
these  brethren,  or  to  force  them  into  antagonism  with  us.  No,  sir.  We  hope, 
and  now  I  will  say  that  I  am  very  sanguine  in  my  hope,  that  the  great  mass  of 
those  brethren,  if  you  send  it  down,  will  all  express  approval  of  it,  and  come  into 
the  union  heartily,  and  so  we  will  have  an  harmonious  union,  which  will  vastly 
promote  our  happiness  and  efficiency  ;  so  that  I  am  gratified  at  this  compromise, 
if  I  may  so  express  it.  Instead  of  doing  the  thing  at  once,  send  it  down,  and  let  the 
brethren  have  what  they  claim  as  rights —  the  opportunity  of  expressing  their  judg 
ment. 

But,  sir,  while  we  were  willing  to  delay  this  matter  for  so  important  a  purpose, 
we  felt  that  there  were  other  interests,  great  and  enduring,  that  ought  to  be  con 
sulted  likewise,  and  that  we  ought  not  unnecessarily  to  postpone  this  matter.  In 
stead,  therefore,  of  providing  that  the  next  General  Assembly  shall  count  the  votes 
and  take  the  order  according  to  the  instructions  of  the  Presbytery,  we  propose  to 
adjourn  the  Assemblies —  these  Assemblies  now  sitting,  to  the  month  of  Novem 
ber,  giving  the  Presbyteries  the  opportunity  of  voting  in  October,  so  that  next 
November,  having  received  their  answers,  if  they  are  favorable,  as  I  doubt  not  they 
will  be,  then  in  November  the  Assembly  can  take  such  order  as  will  enable  the  As 
sembly  of  1870  to  be  an  Assembly  of  the  United  Church,  making  arrangements  for 
the  manner  in  which  that  Assembly  shall  be  organized. 

REASONS   FOR  TWO-THIRDS   VOTE. 

Well,  now,  sir,  a  word  of  explanation  in  regard  to  a  change  which  you  perhaps 
have  noticed.  Hitherto  we,  the  Committees,  have  recommended  that  three-fourths 
of  the  Presbyteries  shall  be  necessary  to  determine  this  question,  and  we  seriously 
considered  that  point,  and  after  the  most  mature  deliberations  it  was  thought  that 
under  existing  circumstances,  and  in  view  of  the  great  interests  involved,  a  two- 
thirds  vote  was  more  proper  and  judicious.  It  did  not  seem  to  us  to  be  right  to  al 
low  a  minority  of  one-fourth  to  govern  the  Church  in  the  settlement  of  this  grand 
question.  Minorities  have  governed  the  world,  the  Church  of  God  ;  and,  sir,  in 
direct  accordance  with  one  of  our  fundamental  principles,  we  thought  a  majority 
should  govern.  Why,  sir,  even  with  respect  to  constitutional  changes,  our  Govern 
ment  demands  nothing  more  than  a  majority  vote.  It  is  not  right  that  a  small  mi 
nority  should  control  and  govern  the  Church  of  God.  There  are,  sir,  we  also  re 
mark,  some  Presbyteries  from  which  we  do  not  hear,  we  know  not  from  what 
cause.  It  is  not  peculiar  with  respect  to  this  question.  Some  have  noticed  it  for 
many  years.  No  matter  what  questions  you  send  down  to  the  Presbyteries,  there 
will  always  be  a  number  of  them  that  will  make  no  response ;  and  unfortunately 
our  Government  requires  us  to  count  them  as  dissenting.  Now,  sir,  if  I  have  been 
correctly  informed,  for  I  have  been  out  of  the  house  on  these  Committees  almost 
all  the  time  during  your  proceedings,  I  cannot  therefore  speak,  perhaps,  with  that 
accuracy  that  I  might  if  I  had  been  present  and  heard  the  thing ;  but  I  understood 
that  some  thirty  Presbyteries  sent  up  no  report.  Well,  now,  are  all  those  thirty 
35 


546  PKESBYTEEIATT   KEUJSTION. 

Presbyteries  opposed  to  Union  ?  I  don't  believe  it.  I  can't  believe  it.  And  yet, 
sir,  in  counting  the  votes,  you  must  count  them  as  dissenting.  You  can  only  count 
the  votes  for  and  against,  and  the  question  must  be  determined  by  the  majority  of 
the  votes  returned.  Well,  sir,  that  is  a  very  grave  consideration  in  this  matter. 
If  we  could  be  certain  that  all  Presbyteries  would  make  a  return,  then  perhaps  it 
would  not  only  be  safe,  but  wise  and  proper,  to  make  it  three-fourths. 

But,  sir,  knowing  that  in  all  previous  time  many  Presbyteries  failed  to  send  up 
a  report  ;  and  even  upon  this  question  of  Union,  that  has  so  stirred  the  hearts  of 
the  great  masses  of  our  people  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  even 
on  this  grand  question  of  Union,  thirty  Presbyteries,  if  I  am  rightly  informed,  send 
no  answer  to  your  overtures  —  thirty-five,  the  Stated  Clerk  tells  me,  and  that  in 
creases  the  weight  of  my  argument  —  thirty-five  Presbyteries  !  —  as  prudent  men 
we  thought  it  would  not  be  judicious  to  measure  the  result  by  requiring  a  three- 
fourths  vote,  if  all  the  Presbyteries  should  not  be  heard  from.  Not  that  if  I  were 
certain  that  three-fourths  of  all  the  Presbyteries  would  not  sanction  this  thing,  I 
would  seriously  doubt  whether  the  time  had  come  for  us  to  consummate  it.  But 
I  felt,  like  my  brethren  of  the  Committee,  I  felt  unwilling  that  thirty-five  negligent 
Presbyteries,  or  owing  to  the  miscarrying  of  their  responses,  or  to  the  neglect  of 
their  stated  clerks,  or  from  any  cause,  —  that  thirty-five  silent  Presbyteries  should 
turn  the  scale  against  the  consummation  of  this  blessed  Union.  No,  sir,  we  looked 
at  it  carefully,  and  we  thought  that  two-thirds  is  the  proper  number,  and  I  trust 
the  Assembly  will  agree  with  us.  Surely,  from  what  we  know  of  the  great  heart  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  whose  pulsations  are  felt  in  every  section  of  our  land, 
surely,  if  two-thirds  of  these  Presbyteries  say  aye,  we  ought  to  take  it  as  the  voice 
of  God  in  his  providence. 


CONCURRENT  DECLARATION 

Now,  sir,  in  regard  to  the  articles  contained  in  the  second  paper,  called  the 
Declaration,  etc.,  I  have  already  stated  to  the  Assembly  that  that  don't  form  a  part 
of  the  Basis.  They  are  not  a  compact  or  covenant,  but  they  suggest  to  the  Assem 
bly  what  are  suitable  arrangements.  I  will  not  repeat  what  I  have  said,  except  to 
call  your  attention  to  that  important  distinction.  They  are  not  terms  of  the  union. 
They  may  be  annulled  or  modified,  as  any  future  Assembly  may  deem  proper.  We 
told  our  brethren  that  we  were  unwilling  to  tie  the  hands  of  the  future  Church  of 
God,  and  I  for  one  was  very  decided  upon  that  point ;  and  I  will  say  to  you  that  I 
would  have  risked,  yes,  risked  the  failure  of  this  Union  at  the  present  time,  rather 
than  concede  that  these  articles  should  be  unchangeable,  though  I  cannot  foresee 
that  there  will  be  any  necessity  in  the  future  to  change  them.  I  am  neither  a 
prophet,  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet ;  but  I  think  I  have  some  little  common  sense, 
and  I  felt  that  it  would  be  unsafe  for  us  to  imperil  the  future  by  trammelling  the 
Church  of  God,  preventing  it  from  exercising  its  liberty  and  from  dealing  with  cir 
cumstances  as  they  might  arise  in  the  providence  of  God.  Sir,  we  were  very  de- 


APPENDIX.  547 

cided  and  determined  that  those  articles  should  not  form  a  part  of  the  compact, 
but  that  they  should  be  suggestions  and  recommendations,  in  order  that  the  Presby 
teries  should  get  an  understanding  between  the  parties.  But,  sir,  it  is  due  to  fair 
ness  that  I  should  say,  and  I  repeat  it  now  publicly,  in  order  that  it  may  have  a 
response  from  this  house,  we  did  say  to  these  brethren,  "  We  will  not  consent  to 
make  these  articles  a  covenant ;  we  won't  adopt  them  as  a  legal  compact,  binding 
upon  the  future ;  yet  we  are  acting  in  good  faith  and  as  honorable  men,  and  we 
say  to  you  that  we  will  not  change  them  at  any  future  time  without  obviously  good 
and  sufficient  reasons."  And  I,  for.  one,  will  feel  bound  in  honor  to  maintain 
those  articles,  so  long  as  they  can  be  maintained  without  serious  detriment  to  the 
interests  of  the  Church  of  God  ;  and  I  hope  this  Assembly  will  understand  it  so,  in 
all  honor  and  in  good  faith,  when  we  have  said  that  we  proposed  these  arrange 
ments,  that  we  did  not  intend  that  they  should  be  ephemeral,  nor  that  we  should 
take  advantage  of  our  numerical  majority  and  alter  them  to  conform  to  our  pe 
culiar  interests  and  wishes.  No,  I  told  the  brethren  of  the  other  side  that  they 
could  trust  my  Church  ;  that  they  were  men  of  honor  and  good  faith  ;  and  if  you 
ratified  this  thing,  you  would  stand  by  it,  and  future  Assemblies  would  stand  by  it, 
until  in  the  progress  of  events  some  good  and  sufficient  reason  should  exist  for 
their  modification. 

SAFETY  ON   THE  PROPOSED  BASIS. 

Now,  sir,  I  have  but  a  few  more  words.  Perhaps  I  have  already  occupied  too 
much  time  ;  but  my  apology  is  in  my  official  relation  to  the  Committee.  Permit 
me  to  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  general  subject.  I  believe  that  the  basis  we 
have  proposed  is  perfectly  safe  for  the  Church  of  God.  If  I  thought  otherwise,  I 
would  not  advocate  it,  I  would  not  consent  to  it.  In  my  conscience  and  before 
God,  I  believe  that  the  doctrines  of  our  beloved  Church  are  safe  on  that  basis.  I 
believe  that  the  whole  body  of  the  other  branch  are  orthodox,  in  our  sense  of  that 
word.  That  there  are  some  men  among  them,  as  perhaps  among  us,  whose  theol 
ogy  neither  you  nor  I  could  endorse,  I  admit ;  but  if  we  wait  to  consummate  this 
union  until  we  are  ready  to  endorse  the  opinions  of  every  man,  we  will  wait  cer 
tainly  until  the  millennium. 

No,  sir,  there  is  no  perfect  Church  on  earth.  No  matter  how  long  you  would 
wait,  why,  sir,  you  would  never  have  it.  I  venture  to  say  that  if  you  would  not 
organize  this  General  Assembly  until  you  were  satisfied  that  every  man — every 
minister  and  every  ruling  elder  constituting  your  constituency  —  until  you  would 
believe  that  every  man  of  them,  clergy  and  ruling  elders,  were  perfectly  orthodox, 
you  would  never  have  a  General  Assembly  of  the  Old  School  Presbyterian 
Church  ! 

Now,  sir,  all  that  I  cared  for  was  that  the  law  should  be  right ;  that  if  any 
opinions  were  propagated  which  seemed  to  us  to  be  inconsistent  with  an  honest 
subscription  to  our  standards,  we  should  not  be  obliged  to  try  the  man  upon  a 


548  PEESBYTEEIA1N"    KEUNION. 

Gurley  law,  or  upon  a  Smith  law,  but  upon  the  old  law  of  our  Westminster  Con 
fession.     If  the  law  is  right,  it  is  our  fault  if  we  don't  justly  apply  it. 

Well,  sir,  so  much  for  that.  I  believe  they  are  sound  and  orthodox  as  a  body, 
just  as  I  believe  we  are.  I  will  not  go  into  any  detail  here.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
Moderator,  I  have  considered  it  my  duty,  as  an  individual,  to  satisfy  my  own  con 
science  with  respect  to  that  vital  point,  not  simply  on  account  of  my  past  personal 
history,  and  my  public  testimonies  on  this  subject,  but  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  in 
order  that  I  might  discharge  my  individual  duty  to  Christ  and  to  God's  people.  I 
have  carefully  endeavored  to  satisfy  my  own  mind  with  regard  to  that  vital  point. 
It  would  not  be  proper  for  me  to  state  the  process  which  I  adopted  —  the  methods, 
nor  to  detail  the  operations.  All  I  shall  say  to  my  brethren  is  this  :  that  with  no 
undue  prejudice  for  or  against  them,  I  have  endeavored  to  inform  myself  as  to  the 
character  of  the  other  branch  ;  and  the  result  has  been  that  I  for  one  am  satisfied 
that  they  are  substantially  sound,  and  that  there  is  no  material  difference  between 
us ;  and  that  as  to  those  points  upon  which  we  divided,  thirty  odd  years  ago,  they 
have  all  passed  away.  We  are  no  longer  troubled  with  them,  and  they  will  not 
corrupt  us. 

CHANGE   OF   CIRCUMSTANCES. 

Why,  sir,  the  change  of  circumstances  is  almost  radically  entire.  I  will  not 
enter  into  that,  lest  I  should  speak  too  long.  There  were  causes  in  operation 
from  1828  up  to  1838  which  we  had  good  reason  to  dread,  and  which  were  un 
doubtedly  corrupting  and  revolutionizing  the  Church  of  God.  I  have  never  said, 
because  I  have  never  felt,  as  some  men  have  said  and  doubtless  felt  —  I  have  never 
said  that  I  regretted  the  part  I  took  in  that  early  conflict.  Sir,  were  we  to  meet 
in  the  same  circumstances,  I  would  repeat,  God  helping  me,  the  same  conduct.  I 
will  rebuke  heresy  now,  as  I  did  then.  I  would  resist  any  attempt  to  revolutionize 
the  Presbyterian  Church  and  to  make  it  Congregational.  I  will  do  it  now  with  as 
much  vigor,  if  I  have  still  left  the  mental  and  physical  strength  that  I  had  thirty 
odd  years  ago ;  at  any  rate  I  would  do  it  with  all  the  power  that  God  would 
give  me. 

Sir,  the  circumstances  are  different.  We  are  not  called  upon  to  watch  the 
Home  Missionary  Society  and  the  American  Education  Society.  We  have  not 
got  to  watch  the  notoriously  unsound  Congregationalists,  who  were  undoubtedly 
at  that  time  spreading  sentiments  which  were  grossly  offensive  to  Old  School  men. 
Sir,  that  day  has  passed  away.  These  brethren  have  their  Committees  of  Mis 
sions,  their  Education  and  Publication  Committees.  They  are  prepared  to  con 
solidate  them  with  our  Boards,  and  to  act  together  with  us  on  ecclesiastical  princi 
ples.  Well,  voluntaryism  has  ceased  to  have  any  influence,  as  have  also  the 
unsound  Congregationalists.  And  I  qualify  my  remark  always  when  I  speak  of 
Congregationalists,  because  there  are  two  classes  of  them  ;  there  is  a  class  of 
Congregationalists  who  are  orthodox,  sound  men,  eminently  pious  men,  whom  I 
would  welcome  into  the  Presbyterian  Church,  for  they  are  Presbyterians,  as  well 
as  Calvinists  in  their  views.  Why,  sir,  such  men  I  have  no  suspicion  of.  I  will 


APPENDIX.  549 

receive  them  with  open  arms  to  my  heart.  All  I  ask  is  for  a  man  to  be  a  good 
Calvinist,  and  a  thorough  Presbyterian,  and  a  sound  Christian,  and  I  don't  care 
from  what  quarter  he  comes,  whether  from  the  North,  or  the  East,  or  the  South, 
or  the  West.  Somehow  or  other,  I  have  such  an  affection  for  all  the  families  of 
real  Calvinists  and  Presbyterians,  that  I  can  take  in  all  New  England  that  is 
sound,  all  the  Canadas,  and  Great  Britain,  and  Ireland,  and  the  whole  world 
Some  men  like  to  repeat  that  remark  of  Whitefield,  that  there  will  be  no  Presby 
terians  and  no  Methodists,  etc.,  in  heaven.  Well,  sir,  I  don't  know  any  more 
about  heaven  than  Whitefield  did,  as  I  have  never  been  there.  I  don't  know  ex 
actly  what  form  of  worship  they  have,  but  I  have  an  idea  that  it  will  be  Presby 
terian.  And,  brethren,  I  will  give  you  my  reason.  I  don't  say  I  never  have 
expressed  an  opinion  without  thinking  I  had  a  good  reason  for  it ;  but  I  think  I 
have  in  this  case,  and  the  reason  why  I  think  their  worship  will  be  like  ours  in 
heaven  is  because  I  believe  that  our  mode  of  worship  is  what  God  inspires  ;  that 
we  have  the  principles  and  the  examples  of  the  apostles  and  prophets ;  and  as  God 
inspires  this  simple  form  of  worship  here,  I  suppose  he  will  approve  of  it  there. 

But  certain  I  am  of  this,  or  more  certain  I  should  say,  that  we  will  all  believe  the 
doctrines  of  Paul  when  we  get  to  heaven.  I  believe  what  Augustine  and  John 
Calvin  taught ;  but  I  would  not  like  myself  to  say  that  we  will  all  be  Calvinists  in 
heaven.  But  I  will  say  this,  that  we  will  all  believe  in  accordance  with  the  reve 
lation  which  God  gave  through  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  by  that  I  understand  Cal 
vinism  ;  and  therefore  I  think  that  we  shall  all  have  that  system  of  doctrines  in 
heaven.  Why,  sir,  I  have  another  reason  for  it,  if  this  is  not  too  much  out  of  the 
way.  No  matter  how  much  certain  denominations  may  differ  from  us  specula- 
tively  and  when  in  controversy,  if  you  just  get  them  to  pray —  I  don't  mean  in 
heaven,  for  you  can't  get  there  yet,  but  on  earth — ask  these  good  Methodist 
brethren  to  pray  right  after  they  have  been  talking  about  Calvinism,  and  if  they 
don't  pray  Calvinism  I  will  wonder.  Well,  get  their  hymns,  and  when  they  come 
to  worship  God  in  that  part  of  the  service,  why  some  of  the  purest  and  best 
Calvinism  that  you  will  find  anywhere  you  will  find  in  some  of  their  hymns.  They 
don't  know  it  by  the  name.  Well  now,  sir,  I  argue  that  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
must  correspond  with  his  teachings  in  his  Word.  We  have  not  the  doctrines  and 
the  experiences  of  the  saints  in  heaven ;  but  we  see  the  teachings  and  the  work  of 
God's  Spirit  on  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  people  upon  the  earth. 

NO   VALID    OBJECTIONS. 

Well,  sir,  enough  for  that.  I  am  satisfied  that  we  can  safely  unite,  because  we 
are  orthodox,  both  of  us,  and  I  think  too  that  we  ought  to  do  it,  because  we  are 
agreed.  Why,  sir,  a  man  ought  to  give  some  grave  reason,  and  obviously  good 
reason,  why  this  union  should  not  be  effected,  because  it  is  so  natural,  it  is  so 
proper  in  itself;  the  parties  are  really  at  one — just  as  I  hold  that  no  man  can  reach 
forty-five  without  being  married,  and  be  excusable,  without  a  good  reason ;  for  a 
man  ought  to  give  a  good  reason.  If  it  is  not  his  fault,  he  is  not  to  blame.  Well, 


550  PKESBYTEEIAN    REUNION. 

now,  my  logic  on  that  subject  is  this.  I  premise  that  no  man  shows  more  folly  than 
when  he  undertakes  to  be  wiser  than  God.  That  is  an  axiom.  Now  the  Almighty 
has  said,  "It  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone  ;  "  and  therefore  a  man  ought  to  have 
a  good  reason.  Paul  had  a  good  reason  —  a  good  reason,  and  so  have  some  others 
of  God's  people.  Well  now,  sir,  it  is  not  for  me  to  publicly  tell  what  Paul's  rea 
son  was,  or  the  reason  of  anybody  else  ;  but,  sir,  there  is  the  argument.  Now  i 
say  that  no  man  is  justified  in  voting  against  this  union,  this  marriage  if  you  please, 
between  these  two  parties,  unless  he  has  a  good  reason  for  forbidding  the  banns. 
Why,  sir,  if  two  were  to  come  up  here  and  want  to  be  married,  and  somebody 
were  to  say,  I  object  to  it,  wouldn't  you,  Mr.  Moderator,  ask  him  why?  Certainly 
you  would,  and  if  he  couldn't  give  a  good  reason,  you  would  proceed.  So  I  would 
take  it.  No  man  can  vote  against  his  own  creed.  We  have  fixed  it  so,  I  won't 
call  it  a  trap,  that  a  man  must  have  a  prodigious  amount  of  moral  courage,  I 
won't  say  impudence,  to  vote  against  himself,  against  his  own  creed.  Now,  sir,  if 
we  put  anything  else  to  it,  he  might  object  to  it ;  but,  sir,  haven't  you,  before  God 
and  his  Church,  declared  that  you  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith?  for 
that  is  the  creed. 

THE  ADVANTAGE  AND  THE  DANGER. 

The  time  has  come  when  this  thing  ought  to  be  settled,  because  it  is  proper  and 
right  in  itself —  and  now  I  come  to  my  last  remark.  I  sometimes  speak  longer 
than  I  should.  An  old  Scotch  woman  was  told  that  her  new  preacher  read  his 
sermons.  She  was  told  to  go  into  the  gallery  and  she  would  find  it  to  be  true. 
She  did  so,  and  sure  enough  she  found  that  in  the  big  Bible  he  had  a  little  paper 
book,  and  when  he  came  to  the  end  she  was  fairly  boiling  over.  When  the  minis 
ter  remarked,  "I  will  enlarge  no  further,"  she  squealed  out,  "Ye  canna  ;  the 
paper  is  oot  ! "  Now,  brethren,  it  has  never  been  my  habit  to  read,  and  of  course 
not  to  write,  and  I  could  tell  you  some  funny  things  about  these  pressmen  who 
wanted  to  get  a  copy  of  the  sermon  that  I  preached.  Why,  bless  your  souls,  said 
I,  not  a  line  have  I  written.  But  the  press  went  and  pressed  me  until,  with  the 
aid  of  an  amanuensis,  I  filled  up  the  heads.  I  am  not  in  that  predicament  now, 
and  therefore  may  talk  too  long.  I  will  try  to  be  short  for  the  remainder  of  the 
time.  I  do  not  want  this  union  simply  because  I  think  it  is  the  will  of  God,  and 
because  I  think  it  is  safe,  and  proper,  and  natural ;  but  I  want  it  for  the  great 
work  that  we  have  before  us.  Now,  in  my  official  position,  perhaps  I  have  been 
able  to  appreciate  this  more  sensibly  than  many  of  my  brethren  ;  for  I  have  cries 
for  help,  pleas  for  men  and  means,  in  all  quarters  of  this  great  land.  Well,  sir,  it 
has  been  my  duty  to  study  the  map  of  our  country,  and  to  keep  myself  acquainted 
with  its  moral  destitutions,  and  oh,  the  weight  that  these  things  have  upon  our 
spirits  !  So  much  to  do,  so  weak,  and  so  little  power  to  do  it  with  !  In  behalf  of 
millions  of  souls  I  implore  you  to  combine  your  forces  for  the  conquest  of  this  land 
and  the  evangelization  of  the  world  !  Oh,  what  a  power  there  will  be  in  this  com 
bination,  not  simply  by  real  multiplication,  according  to  our  numerical  strength  1 


APPENDIX.  551 

Why,  that  is  not  the  half  of  it.  It  is  not  that  you  are  to  have  in  one  Church  so 
many  more  men  and  so  many  more  dollars  ;  but,  sir,  you  are  to  have  a  spirit  there, 
you  are  to  have  a  faith  there,  you  are  to  have  an  enterprise  there,  and  energy  and 
courage,  which  are  so  much  needed  in  this  grand  work  before  us.  It  is  not  always 
the  large  army  that  is  the  most  effective.  It  may  be  disorganized  ;  it  may  be  dis 
couraged.  Sometimes  a  much  smaller  host,  united  with  mutual  confidence,  will 
attack  and  overcome  the  far  larger  force,  by  dint  of  discipline  and  spirit.  Now, 
sir,  I  think  that  if  this  union  is  consummated  you  will  infuse  a  spirit  of  hope,  of 
faith,  of  zeal,  of  renewed  courage.  All  our  ministers,  all  our  elders,  all  our  people, 
will  have  a  heart ;  and  that  is  what  we  want.  They  will  have  a  heart  to  work,  and 
there  is  no  telling  what  good  may  be  accomplished.  Why,  sir,  there  is  not  an 
infidel,  there  is  not  a  Jesuit  in  this  land  that  would  not  rejoice  at  the  failure  of 
this  attempt  at  reunion  !  They  delight  in  our  divisions  ;  they  lament  our  unions ; 
yes,  I  have  thought  that  I  could  trace  the  hand  of  a  Jesuit  in  many  an  article  that 
I  have  read  in  the  Protestant  papers  within  the  last  thirty-eight  years.  Sir,  you 
know  what  a  Jesuit  is,  and  therefore  I  need  not  describe  him.  But,  sir,  they 
dread  the  Presbyterian  Church  more  than  all  others  combined.  One  of  their 
priests  once  said  to  me,  "  We  hate  the  Methodists,  but  \\efear  you."  Fear  you  ! 
Now,  sir,  in  order  that  you  may  give  a  blow  to  infidelity  and  Sabbath  desecration, 
that  you  may  give  a  check  to  Romanism,  in  God's  name  reunite  these  hosts,  that 
you  may  do  battle  in  the  name  of  King  Jesus.  Only  let  us  guard,  brethren,  against 
one  temptation.  Just  as  sure  as  you  live,  if  it  promotes  vanity,  and  ambition,  and 
self-sufficiency,  God  will  frown  upon  it.  That  is  now  about  the  greatest  danger 
I  apprehend.  It  is  that  if  we  consummate  this  union  we  will  feel  proud  and  self- 
sufficient.  Oh  that  God  would  keep  us  from  that  spirit  ;  that  he  would  make  us 
humble,  and  help  us  to  realize  our  absolute  dependence  upon  him ;  and  that  he 
would  give  us  the  spirit  of  prayer  after  the  union  as  well  as  before  it ;  that  he  would 
make  it  a  blessing  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world  !  May  God  speed  this  happy 
work,  and  this  year  not  close  until  this  union  is  declared  effected  ! 


5.     PASTORAL  LETTER  OF  1869.     BY  THE  REV.  M.  W.  JACOBUS,  D.D., 
LL.D.    REFERRED  TO  ON  PAGE  373. 

The  General  Assemblies  of  both  Branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  to  the  Presbyteries  and  Churches  under  their 
care : 

BELOVED  BRETHREN,  —  You  are  already  informed  of  the  successive  measures 
which  have  been  adopted  during  the  last  three  years,  designed  to  effect  an  organic 
union  of  the  two  great  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  these  United 
States.  The  several  conferences  and  overtures  of  preceding  Committees  and  As 
semblies  having  accomplished  much  in  the  interest  of  mutual  understanding  and  of 
Christian  confidence,  the  two  General  Assemblies  recently  convened  in  the  city  of 


552  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

New  York  found  themselves  ready,  very  promptly,  to  agree,  as  they  have  agreed 
with  signal  unanimity,  upon  a  basis  of  Reunion. 

This  basis  is  simply  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  basis  of  our  standards,  here 
tofore  and  now  common  to  both  branches —  "  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Form 
of  Government  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,"  without  note 
or  comment,  without  restriction  or  qualification.  Each  body,  equally  with  the 
other,  recognizes  and  abides  by  this  platform,  as  the  natural  and  constitutional 
ground  for  those  claiming  to  be  Presbyterians ;  and  as  the  true,  safe,  consistent 
and  unchallengeable  ground  for  these  two  bodies  coming  again  to  be  one. 

We  have  commingled  our  prayers  and  praises  as  one  Assembly,  and  we  have 
communed  together  at  the  table  of  our  common  Lord  as  one  "body  in  Christ  ;  " 
and  we  believe  that  the  spirit  of  love  and  concord  has  been  shed  down  upon  us, 
leading  to  this  good  result. 

The  great  questions  of  our  cherished  formulas,  which  are  solemnly  propounded 
in  the  licensure  and  ordination  of  ministers,  and  in  the  ordination  of  ruling  elders 
and  deacons,  namely:  "Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures,  etc.?"  "Do  you  sin 
cerely  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  this  Church,  as  containing  the 
system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures?"  and,  "  Do  you  approve  of  the 
government  and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  these  United  States?"  — 
these  vital  questions  are  here  addressed  by  each  to  the  other  of  these  great  bodies. 
And  as  to  each  of  these  questions  each  of  these  bodies  responds  to  the  other,  and 
to  the  world,  with  an  unqualified  AYE  !  Several  items,  not  in  the  basis,  are  ap 
pended  as  "Concurrent  Declarations  of  the  General  Assemblies  of  1869."  They 
express  certain  mutual  understandings  to  be  carried  out  in  good  faith,  though  not 
of  the  nature  of  a  contract. 

So  simple  a  plan,  and  so  constitutional,  with  such  unanimous  adoption  by  your 
representatives  in  both  Assemblies,  seemed  to  some  to  warrant  an  immediate  con 
summation.  But  unanimous  as  were  the  General  Assemblies,  they  were  not 
disposed  to  deny  to  any  presbytery  the  free  expression  of  its  opinion  and  suffrage, 
even  though  this  may  seem  to  have  been  given  already  in  advance. 

Accordingly  it  was  ordered  that  the  plan  of  Reunion  above  described  should 
be  transmitted  to  you  for  your  formal  and  official  approval.  It  only  remains  that 
you  take  prompt  and  harmonious  action  upon  it,  such  as  is  indicated  by  the  action 
of  your  delegates,  and  that  you  send  up  to  the  respective  General  Assemblies 
your  Presbyterial  ratification ;  and  then  the  separation  which  has  lasted  nearly  half 
the  century  thus  far,  and  almost  a  whole  generation,  will  be  happily  ended,  and 
we  shall  surely  gird  ourselves  for  a  new  stadium  of  our  career  in  the  work  and 
service  of  our  Lord. 

We  beg  you  to  notice  that,  inasmuch  as  the  affirmative  vote  of  two-thirds  of 
the  presbyteries  connected  with  each  Assembly  is  requisite,  each  presbytery  must 
act,  or  be  counted  in  the  negative.  And  action  must  be  taken  definitely,  on  or 
before  the  I5th  day  of  October;  and  a  statement  of  the  vote  of  the  presbytery 
must  be  certified  to  the  stated  clerk  of  its  Assembly,  prior  to  November  ist.  And 
besides,  in  order  to  secure  transmission,  the  Commissioners  should  bring  up  ia 


APPETO)IX.  553 

hand  to  the  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Assembly  in  Pittsburg,  on  the  loth  of  No 
vember,  a  duplicate  certificate  of  the  action  of  their  respective  presbyteries. 

And  now,  brethren,  do  not  the  times  demand  of  us  such  organic  consolidation, 
when  the  forces  of  antichrist  are  everywhere  organizing  union  against  the  Lord 
and  against  his  anointed,  and  when  the  rallying  call  for  an  Ecumenical  Council 
goes  forth  from  Rome,  that  would  fain  muster  her  recruits  from  the  Protestant 
ranks  for  the  great  coming  conflict?  Our  best  answer  to  the  Pope's  Encyclical 
will  be  our  Reunion  in  November,  in  season  to  be  communicated  to  the  Papal 
conclave  at  the  Vatican  in  December.  We  are  loudly  summoned  to  reunite  now, 
when  such  gigantic  enterprises  are  on  foot  to  subvert  our  holy  religion,  when  all 
forms  of  misbelief  and  disbelief  are  banding  their  forces  to  destroy  the  Christian 
faith,  to  break  down  the  Christian  Sabbath,  to  demoralize  society,  and  to  root 
out  our  blessed  Christianity  from  the  world ;  when  Romanism,  Rationalism,  and 
Ritualism  make  up  the  TRINE  FALSEHOOD  which  denies  all  that  is  vital  in  our 
doctrine  and  worship ;  and  when  the  great  Deceiver  goes  forth,  in  all  the  earth, 
with  sleepless  energy,  to  instigate  kings  and  peoples  to  all  the  horrid  orgies  of 
Atheism.  At  such  a  fearful  crisis  ought  any  evangelizing  energy  to  be  wasted  or 
misapplied?  At  the  moment  of  final  conflict,  is  it  not  a  woful  mistake  to  turn 
our  guns  against  battalions  of  our  own  army,  who  come  to  join  our  ranks,  bearing 
aloft  our  banners?  Our  Confession  dwells  much  upon  "the  communion  of  saints" 
(see  chap.  26). 

And  if  there  should  be  any  dissent  from  the  plan  so  unanimously  agreed  upon 
by  your  representatives,  then  is  it  not  the  true  Presbyterian  loyalty  that  a  minority 
should  defer,  in  all  good  conscience,  and  in  all  Christian  charity,  to  the  Presbyte- 
rial  majority  —  "  following  after  the  things  that  make  for  peace,  and  things  where 
with  one  may  edify  another"?  (Rom.  xiv.  19). 

And  now,  beloved  brethren,  let  us  not  boast  ourselves,  as  if  by  the  mere  force 
of  such  a  compact  our  great  work  could  be  achieved ;  else,  like  Jacob  in  his 
success  with  the  wrestling  angel,  the  sinew  of  the  thigh  will  be  shrunk,  and  we 
shall  be  sent  halting  on  our  way  (Gen.  xxxii.  25,  31,  32).  Nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  let  any  one  foster  suspicions  or  stir  up  strifes.  Even  torches  of  truth  may 
be  mischievously  placed  so  as  to  set  on  fire  the  standing  corn,  and  vineyards,  and 
olives,  that  give  such  glorious  promise  of  harvest  (Judg.  xv.  4,  5).  And  then 
remember  that  even  greater  than  Faith  and  Hope  is  CHARITY  (i  Cor.  xiii.  13). 

To  exercise  an  intelligent  Christian  confidence,  to  cultivate  a  higher  style  of 
piety  for  pastors  and  people,  and  to  devise  and  execute  liberal  things  for  Christ 
and  his  Church  —  these  are  the  urgent  demands  of  this  jubilant  occasion. 

And  finally,  dear  brethren,  for  this  great  united,  reunited  Presbyterian  Church 
in  these  United  States,  still  opening  her  arms  to  receive  other  members  of  the 
same  noble  family  who  "have  obtained  like  precious  faith  with  us,"  what  a  stu 
pendous  work  is  set  forth,  which  we  may  enter  upon  and  achieve  !  Our  own  land 
is  pleading  for  our  united  and  aggressive  action.  Moral  elements,  good  and  bad, 
are  seeking  their  affinities.  Unevangelized  masses,  in  our  teeming  cities  and  on 
our  wide  frontiers,  are  retaliating  upon  our  neglect  of  them,  by  claiming  license 


554  PKESBYTEEIAN   KEUNION. 

under  the  name  of  liberty,  and  threatening  our  free  institutions.  Meanwhile  the 
ends  of  the  earth  are  marvellously  brought  together,  as  if  in  eager  waiting  to  see 
the  salvation  of  our  God.  And  as  if  to  rebuke  the  slowness  of  our  Foreign  Mis 
sionary  work,  the  idolatrous  populations  of  Asia  are  thronging  upon  our  Pacific 
coast.  Is  it  not  high  time  for  us,  as  a  Church,  to  move  in  solid  phalanx  upon  the 
enemy's  works?  Can  we  afford  longer  to  divide  our  forces  and  weaken  our  de 
fences,  by  working  apart  ?  And  shall  not  this  Church,  to  whom  God  has  com 
mitted,  as  we  believe,  a  special  deposit  of  his  truth,  gird  herself  anew,  at  this 
loving  impulse,  to  disseminate  this  truth  in  all  lands  and  languages  ?  In  such  a 
day  of  his  power,  shall  not  his  people  be  willing  (free-will  offerings,  Psalm  ex. 
3),  as  when  the  people  of  Israel  "  brought  the  Lord's  offering  to  the  work  of  the 
tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  men  and  women,  as  many  as  were  willing-hearted, 
and  brought  bracelets,  and  ear-rings,  and  rings,  and  tablets,  all  jewels  of  gold  "  ? 
(Exod.  xxxv.  21,  etc.)  Wealth  that  has  long  been  withheld  will  flow  forth,  as  we 
trust,  in  a  new  consecration,  and  our  excellent  Presbyterian  system  will  be  operated 
with  new  efficiency  in  all  its  departments.  We  fondly  believe  that  not  only  our 
merchant  princes,  but  the  masses  of  our  membership,  touched  by  this  spirit  of 
REVIVAL,  and  hailing  this  new  era  in  the  annals  of  our  Church,  will  bring  forward 
their  munificent  tliank-offcrings,  to  supply  the  treasuries  of  our  boards  and  com 
mittees  ;  to  endow  and  equip  our  theological  seminaries ;  to  sustain  our  impover 
ished  ministry ;  and  against  all  negative  and  false  Christianity  to  bear  aloft  the 
standards  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  its  Confession  and  Catechisms,  with  its  free 
government  and  its  simple,  Scriptural  worship  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 

We  have  only,  in  conclusion,  to  beg  your  observance  of  the  second  Sabbath  in 
September,  recommended  by  both  General  Assemblies  as  "  a  day  of  fervent  and 
united  prayer  to  Almighty  God,  that  he  would  grant  unto  us  all  the  spirit  of  coun 
sel  and  might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord,"  and  that  he 
would  enable  us,  in  the  new  relations  now  contemplated,  "to  keep  the  unity  of 
the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace." 

"  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem.     They  shall  prosper  that  love  thee." 

"  Now  the  God  of  patience  and  consolation  grant  you  to  be  like-minded  one 

toward  another,  according  to  Christ  Jesus ;  that  ye  may,  with  one  mind  and  one 

mouth,  glorify  God,  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     WHEREFORE 

RECEIVE  YE  ONE  ANOTHER,  AS  CHRIST  ALSO  RECEIVED  US,  TO   THE  GLORY   OF 

GOD  "  (Rom.  xv.  5-7). 

Signed  by  the  Joint  Committee, 

M.  W.  JACOBUS,  P.  H.  FOWLER, 

Moderator,  O.  S.  Moderator,  N.  S. 

G.  W.  MUSGRAVE,  WM.  ADAMS, 

A.  G.  HALL,  J.  F.  STEARNS, 

LYMAN  H.  ATWATER,  R.  W.  PATTERSON, 

WILLIS  LORD,  S.  W.  FISHER, 


APPENDIX.  555 

H.  R.  WILSON,  JAS.  B.  SHAW, 

Ministers.  Ministers. 

HENRY  DAY,  W.  STRONG, 

ROBERT  CARTER,  DANIEL  HAINES, 

CHAS.  D.  DRAKE,  WM.  E.  DODGE, 

WM.  M.  FRANCIS,  J.  S.  FARRAND, 

JNO.  C.  GRIER,  JNO.  L.  KNIGHT, 

Elders.  Elders. 


6.     RESOLUTIONS     WITH     REFERENCE     TO     OTHER     PRESBY 
TERIAN  BODIES.     REFERRED  TO  ON  PAGE  374. 

Resolutions  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  (N.  S.),  Pittsburg,  November, 
1869: 

Resolved,  That,  rejoicing  in  the  immediate  Reunion  of  the  two  Presbyterian 
Bodies  so  long  separated,  we  would  gladly  hail  a  Pam-Presbyterian  Union,  em 
bracing  all  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  family  holding  to  the  same  Confession  of 
Faith  and  Form  of  Government. 

Resolved,  That  all  uniting  with  us  may  freely  enjoy  the  privilege  of  using  such 
songs  of  praise  to  Almighty  God  as  their  consciences  may  dictate,  as  indeed  is 
already  allowed  to  and  variously  enjoyed  in  and  by  the  several  congregations  now 
in  our  communion. 

The  Old  School  Assembly  adopted  the  former  of  the  above. 


7.  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  CONFERENCE  WITH  THE 
AMERICAN  B.  C.  F.  M.,  APPOINTED  BY  THE  GENERAL 
ASSEMBLY,  NEW  SCHOOL,  1869,  INCLUDING  THE  ACTION  OF  THE 
PRUDENTIAL  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  REFERRED  TO  ON 

PAGE  433. 

The  General  Assembly,  convened  in  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  in  the  month  of  November,  1869,  anticipating  the  formation  of  a  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  for  the  united  Church,  appointed  a  Committee,  consisting  of  the 
Ministers,  J.  F.  Stearns,  Robert  W.  Patterson,  and  R.  R.  Booth,  and  the  Elders, 
Robert  S.  Williams  and  William  E.  Landen,  "  to  take  into  consideration  our  rela 
tions  to  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  and  report  to 
the  next  Assembly  such  measures  as  to  them  may  seem  proper  and  expedient,  for 
the  adjustment  of  those  relations  to  the  new  posture  of  our  affairs." 

This  Committee,  having  attended  to  the  duty  assigned  them,  as  far  as  their  cir 
cumstances  would  permit,  now  beg  leave  to  present  their  Report  : 

The  relations  between  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  have  been  from  the 


556  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION. 

beginning  intimate  and  fraternal.  The  Board,  immediately  after  its  organization, 
submitted  to  the  Assembly  "  the  expediency  of  forming  an  institution  similar  to 
this,  between  which  and  us  there  may  be  such  a  co-operation  as  shall  promote  the 
great  object  of  missions  among  unevangelized  nations."  As  the  Assembly  declined 
the  proposal,  preferring,  for  reasons  assigned,  to  have  for  the  present  no  separate 
organization  for  that  object,  the  original  corporators  of  the  Board,  who  were  all 
of  the  Congregational  denomination,  elected  into  their  body,  at  the  first  meeting 
after  their  incorporation,  "  eight  of  the  more  distinguished  members  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Church,"  among  whom  we  recognize  with  interest  such  names  as  Samuel 
Miller,  Eliphalet  Nott,  Elias  Boudinot,  James  Richards,  and  Ashbel  Green. 

"The  amalgamation  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  with  the  Board, 
in  1825,  gave  occasion  for  a  formal  and  emphatic  recognition  of  the  Board  by  the 
General  Assembly."  This  Society  had  been  formed,  in  the  year  1817,  by  a  Joint 
Committee  of  the  General  Assembly  and  the  General  Synods  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  and  Associate  Reformed  Churches.  The  Assembly,  in  1826,  formally  rati 
fied  the  engagements  which  had  been  made  by  the  two  missionary  bodies,  and,  in 
accordance  therewith,  recommended  the  Board  to  "the  favorable  notice  and 
Christian  support  of  the  Church  and  people  under  its  care." 

The  relations  thus  established  remained  undisturbed  till  about  the  time  of  our 
disruption  ;  after  which  the  Old  School  Assembly  had  its  own  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  while  the  New  School  Assembly  continued  as  before  to  maintain  its  con 
nection  with  the  American  Board. 

During  the  whole  period  of  more  than  thirty  years  that  followed  that  event,  the 
relations  of  the  two  last-named  bodies  have  been  eminently  satisfactory.  The 
Board  has  always  received  the  communications  of  the  Assembly  with  fraternal 
courtesy,  and  shown  a  ready  disposition,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  comply  with  its 
wishes  ;  and  the  Assembly,  in  a  corresponding  spirit,  has  received  from  time  to 
time  the  delegations  of  the  Board,  and  commended  that  institution  to  the  confi 
dence  and  co-operation  of  the  churches. 

In  the  year  1859,  the  Assembly,  desirous  of  coming  into  closer  connection  with 
its  missionaries  on  the  foreign  field,  and  of  securing  there  a  fuller  proportional  de 
velopment  of  our  ecclesiastical  polity,  so  far  as  might  be  consistent  with  other  in 
terests,  appointed  a  Committee  of  Conference  to  attend  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Board,  and  lay  before  it  the  following  proposition,  viz.,  "  The  Assembly  desires: 

"i.  That  it  should  be  distinctly  understood  here  and  abroad,  that  the  Board, 
its  Prudential  Committee  and  officers,  interpose  no  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the 
formation  of  Foreign  Presbyteries. 

"  2.  That  the  appointments  of  missionaries  should  be  so  disposed,  wherever  it 
is  wise  and  practicable,  as  to  facilitate  the  formation  of  such  Presbyteries. 

"  3.  That  there  should  be  a  free  correspondence  of  our  missionaries  with  the 
Permanent  Committee  of  the  General  Assembly." 

To  all  these  propositions,  after  full  examination  by  a  Committee,  and  free  dis 
cussion  in  the  open  meeting  of  the  whole  body,  the  Board  gave  an  affirmative 
answer.  During  the  ten  years  that  have  since  elapsed,  the  Assembly,  has  relied 


APPENDIX.  557 

upon  the  engagements  contained  in  them  with  unquestioned  confidence ;  and,  if 
less  of  fruits  have  resulted  from  them  than  was  at  first  expected,  it  has  been,  we 
have  reason  to  believe,  because  such  results  could  not  well  be  secured  in  existing 
circumstances. 

We  now  come  to  the  "new  posture  of  our  affairs"  contemplated  by  the  Assem 
bly  in  the  appointment  of  this  Committee. 

The  Committee,  having  carefully  considered  the  whole  subject,  are  clearly  of  the 
opinion  : 

That  the  time  has  come  when  an  effort  should  be  made,  as  far  as  may  be  con 
sistent  with  the  fullest  liberty  of  individual  contributors  and  churches,  to  concen 
trate  the  counsels,  the  energies,  and  the  contributions  of  the  whole  united  Church 
in  the  work  about  to  be  carried  on  by  our  Foreign  Missionary  Board.  Reluctant 
as  we  are  to  sever  the  bonds  which  have  so  long  and  happily  subsisted,  the  Com 
mittee  are  confident  that  nothing  would  be  gained,  and  much  may  be  lost,  to  the 
common  cause  by  unnecessary  delay.  In  pursuance  of  this  conviction,  at  a  meet 
ing  held  in  the  chapel  of  Mercer  Street  Church,  New  York,  March  igth,  1870  — 
Present,  Ministers,  J.  F.  Stearns,  R.  W.  Patterson,  and  R.  R.  Booth  ;  Absent, 
Elders  R.  S.  Williams  and  R.  E.  Landen  —  after  prayer  and  free  discussion  on  the 
subject  referred  to  them,  the  Committee  resolved  : 

"r.  That,  in  the  judgment  of  this  Committee,  it  is  desirable  and  important 
that  a  fair  proportion  of  the  Missions  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  should  be  transferred 
to  the  Board  of  the  united  Presbyterian  Church. 

"  2.  That  in  order  to  a  harmonious  and  satisfactory  transfer  of  any  portion  of 
these  missions  to  the  Board  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
leave  the  missionaries,  now  connected  with  such  missions,  at  liberty  to  retain  their 
present  ecclesiastical  relations,  in  case  they  should  prefer  to  do  so. 

"  This  liberty  should  be  accorded  to  the  Congregational  missionaries  who  may 
be  and  continue  in  such  missions ;  and  also,  in  case  of  the  formation  of  Presby 
teries  on  the  foreign  field,  to  such  Presbyterian  missionaries  as  may  prefer  to  re 
main  members  of  the  Presbyteries  in  this  country  to  which  they  now  belong. 

"  3.  That  it  should  be  fully  understood  by  all  parties,  that  the  same  liberty  thus 
provided  for,  in  the  case  of  Congregational  missionaries  to  be  transferred  to  the 
Assembly's  Board,  should  be  granted  by  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  to  such  Presbyterian 
missionaries  as  may  still  continue  with  the  missions  of  that  Board." 

The  first  of  these  resolutions  was  deemed  essential,  in  justice  to  ourselves  and 
the  Board,  as  well  as  for  the  most  successful  prosecution  of  our  future  missionary 
work.  With  so  many  missionaries  in  the  field,  and  so  large  a  work  begun  in  com 
mon,  with  the  expectation  of  our  continued  co-operation,  we  could  not,  in  all  fair 
ness,  withdraw  our  contributions  without  taking  with  us  a  corresponding  part  of  the 
responsibilities  of  the  work.  On  the  other  hand,  after  having  contributed  largely 
in  men  and  money  to  the  building  up  of  this  great  missionary  enterprise,  and, 
during  a  period  of  thirty  years,  assisted  to  carry  it  forward  to  its  present  advanced 
position,  it  would  be  manifestly  unreasonable  that  we  should  go  out  empty-handed, 
leaving  behind  all  the  results  of  the  past  and  the  accumulated  facilities  for  the 


558  PRESBYTERIAN   REUNION". 

future.  Indeed,  it  would  be  quite  impossible  for  us  to  carry  with  us  into  the  new 
organization  our  churches  and  individual  contributors,  if  in  making  the  change 
they  must  give  up  their  whole  present  working  force,  and  separate  themselves  from 
the  beloved  missionaries,  the  precious  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Church. 

The  other  two  resolutions  were  deemed  important,  as  an  assurance  to  the  mis 
sionaries  that,  in  changing  their  external  relations  from  one  Board  to  another,  they 
will  not  be  required  suddenly  to  change  their  missionary  policy,  of  which,  from 
long  experience  in  their  particular  fields,  they  must,  in  many  cases,  be  the  best 
judges ;  nor  to  sacrifice  their  ecclesiastical  preferences,  or  break  their  present  eccle 
siastical  connections.  Were  this  required,  some,  it  is  to  be  feared,  who  would 
otherwise  gladly  cast  in  their  lot  with  us,  would  think  it  wisest  to  remain  as  they 
are. 

In  respect  to  two  at  least  of  the  points  involved  in  the  foregoing  resolutions,  we 
are  happy  to  say  that  we  have  the  concurrence  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  two 
Assemblies  on  Foreign  Missions,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  extract  from 
their  minutes  furnished  to  us,  and  of  which  the  former  was  read  by  us  to  the  Pru 
dential  Committee  previous  to  their  action  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Joint  Committee  desire  that  our  Church,  through  its  reor 
ganized  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  shall  be  understood  as  ready  to  assume  a 
portion  of  the  existing  Foreign  Missionary  work  now  conducted  by  the  A.  B.  C. 
F.  M.,  proportionate  to  the  contemplated  transfer  of  resources  under  the  new 
ecclesiastical  arrangement,  the  most  careful  regard  being  had  to  the  interests  and 
efficiency  of  the  existing  missions,  and  to  the  feelings  of  the  missionaries. 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Committee  recommend  to  the  General  Assembly  the  pass 
age  of  the  following  resolution  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Assembly  hears  with  satisfaction  that  there  is  a  good 
prospect  of  the  transfer  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  Foreign  Missions,  now  under 
the  care  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. ,  to  the  Board  of  the  General  Assembly  ;  and  that,  in 
view  of  the  transitional  and  exceptional  nature  of  the  contemplated  arrangements, 
the  Assembly  would  leave  a  liberal  discretionary  power  to  the  Board,  and  to  the  mis 
sionaries  who  are  to  be  received,  in  reference  to  their  policy  and  ecclesiastical  re 
lations." 

With  these  views,  the  Committee  adjourned,  to  meet  at  Boston,  May  roth  ; 
and  arrangements  having  been  made  for  a  Conference  with  the  Prudential  Com 
mittee  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  met  at  the  Missionary  House  —  Present:  Ministers, 
J.  F.  Stearns  and  R.  R.  Booth,  and  Elder,  R.  S.  Williams  —  and  were  cordially 
received  by  that  body.  The  object  of  the  interview  was  to  explain  the  views  of 
the  Committee  of  the  Assembly,  ascertain  those  of  the  Prudential  Committee,  and, 
more  especially,  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  latter  in  determining  and  carry 
ing  into  effect  the  changes  that  are  desirable.  After  a  full  and  free  discussion  of 
the  points  involved,  in  which  the  Assembly's  Commit  tee  disclaimed  ail  desire  to  in 
terfere  in  the  slightest  degree  with  the  judgment  and  preferences  of  the  missionaries, 
or  to  pursue  any  claims  on  the  part  of  those  whom  they  represented,  to  the  detri 
ment  of  any  of  the  missions,  or  the  hindrance  in  any  respect  of  the  common  cause, 


APPENDIX.  559 

the  Prudential  Committee  adopted,  as  the  expression  of  their  views  and  intentions, 
the  following  paper,  which  is  herewith  submitted  to  the  Assembly : 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Prudential  Committee  of  the  American  Board  of  Commis 
sioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  held  at  the  Missionary  House,  Boston,  May  17th, 
1870,  the  action  set  forth  in  the  following  minute  was  duly  taken,  to  wit : 

"  'The  Prudential  Committee  have  heard  with  pleasure  the  statements  and  sug 
gestions  of  Dr.  Stearns,  Dr.  Booth,  and  R.  S.  Williams,  Esq. ,  a  Committee  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (N. S.),  appointed  at  Pitts- 
burg,  November  nth,  1869,  to  take  into  consideration  its  relations  to  the  A.  B. 
C.  F.  M.,  and  "report  to  the  next  Assembly  such  measures  as  to  them  may  seem 
proper  and  expedient  for  the  adjustment  of  those  relations  to  the  new  posture  of 
affairs;  "  and,  in  response  thereto,  they  adopt  the  following  resolutions  : 

1.  "  '  Resolved,  That  the  thankful  acknowledgments  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  are 
due  to  the  Presbyterian  churches  for  their  cordial  and  unwavering  co-operation 
during  a  long  series  of  years,  whereby  our  resources  at  home  and  our  efforts  abroad 
have  been  greatly  enlarged. 

2.  "  '  Resolved,   That  while  we  are  unable  to  anticipate,  without  regret,  the 
withdrawal  of  friends  who  have  been  so  steadfast  and  helpful,  we  sincerely  rejoice 
in  the  conviction  that,  by  reason  thereof,  the  work  which  the  American  churches 
are  doing  in  heathen  lands  is  to  receive  at  once  a  new  impulse,  and  to  yield  in 
coming  years  a  more  abundant  harvest. 

3.  "  'Resolved,  That  the  Prudential  Committee  gratefully  recognize  the  gener 
ous  confidence  which  these  friends  have  reposed  in  them,  as  the  Directors  ad  in 
terim  of  the  affairs  of  the  Board,  thereby  enabling  them  to  consider  the  questions 
which  have  come  before  them,  irrespective  of  their  denominational  bearings,  and 
simply  as  missionary  problems. 

4.  "  'Resolved,  That  we  cheerfully  concede  the  right  of  the  missionaries  to  take 
a  release  from  their  connection  with  us,  upon  their  personal  application,  and  to 
seek  a  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  Board ;  not  that  the  organization  which 
we  represent  is  unwilling  or  unable  to  support  them  in  case  they  choose  to  remain 
with  us,  but  in  order  to  leave  them  uninfluenced  in  their  choice ;  with  the  under 
standing  that  their  privileges  as  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  to  be  fully 
recognized  as  heretofore. 

5.  "  'Resolved,  That  we  will  cheerfully  co-operate  with  the  Committee  of  the 
General  Assembly,  in  arranging  for  the  withdrawal  of  such  a  proportion  of  the 
missionaries  connected  with  us  as  will  satisfactorily  represent  the  interest  of  that 
part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  which  has  hitherto  acted  with  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 
in  the  prosecution  of  our  common  enterprise,  so  far  as  it  can  be  done  without  in 
juring  the  work  in  any  field,  or  interfering  with  the  preferences  of  any  of  the  mis 
sionaries. 

6.  "  '  Resolved,  That,  in  case  all  the  missionaries  in  any  field  shall  come  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  the  Prudential  Committee  will  convey  thereto 
the  property  heretofore  in  the  occupancy  of  such  missionaries,  and  will  discontinue 
their  endeavors  in  such  field. 


560  PRESBYTERIAN    REUNION. 

7.  "'Resolved,  That,  in  case  a  part  of  the  missionaries  in  any  field  shall  wish 
to  transfer  their  relations  to  the  Presbyterian  Board,  without  desiring  a  change  of 
location,  while  a  part  shall  wish  to  remain  in  their  present  relation  and  their  pres 
ent  work,  it  will  be  the  aim  of  the    Prudential  Committee  to  adjust  the  various 
questions  which  may  arise,  with  sole  reference  to  the  highest  interests  of  the  mis 
sionary  enterprise. 

8.  "  'Resolved,  That  the  Prudential  Committee  avail  themselves  of  this  occasion 
to  say,  that  they  have  never  recognized  any  distinctions  among  their  brethren  in 
the  foreign  service,  but  have  felt  for  all  the  same  affection,  and  have  reposed  in  all 
the   same   confidence  ;    and    that  they  shall  part  from  those  who  may  desire  a 
release  with  profound  regret,  and  with  earnest  supplications  that  the  blessing  of 
Him  who  is  "  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church"  may  be  vouchsafed  to  them 
more  and  more. 

9.  "  '  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  minute  be  sent  to  all  the  missions  of  the 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M.'" 

Thus  far  the  Committee  have  had  no  correspondence  with  any  of  the  mission 
aries  on  the  foreign  field,  and  are  not  able  to  state  their  views.  Considerations  of 
propriety  and  delicacy  seemed  to  require  that  no  such  correspondence  should  be  in 
stituted  till  the  views  of  the  Prudential  Committee  should  have  been  ascertained ; 
and  this  object,  owing  to  unavoidable  circumstances,  could  not  be  effected  till  near 
the  time  of  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly.  They  can  easily  suppose  that 
obstacles  may  arise  in  this  or  that  mission,  which  otherwise  might  be  expected  to 
become  connected  with  the  Assembly's  Board,  making  the  transfer  difficult,  if  not 
for  the  present  impracticable.  Nor  are  they  able  to  judge,  until  after  a  closer  ex 
amination,  what  portions  of  the  missionary  field  can,  or  ought,  in  all  fairness  and 
Christian  prudence,  to  be  so  transferred.  The  contributions  of  that  part  of  the 
Church,  hitherto  connected  with  the  American  Board,  have  been  for  the  last  ten 
years  about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  per  year,  and  the  number  of  Presby 
terian  missionaries  employed  about  fifty,  besides  missionary  assistants.  It  can 
hardly  be  supposed  that  all  these  missionary  brethren  and  sisters,  or  this  full  pro 
portion  of  the  missions  established,  can  be  withdrawn  consistently  with  the  princi 
ples  by  which,  as  we  are  all  agreed,  this  transaction  should  be  governed.  The 
work  of  the  Board  has  been  sustained  in  common  by  the  two  sister  denominations 
composing  its  membership.  The  funds  of  both  have  gone  into  the  same  treasury, 
and  been  expended  in  the  same  fields.  The  missionaries  have  been  assigned  to 
their  respective  places,  with  reference  chiefly  to  their  fitness  for  the  work  required 
or  the  needs  of  the  missions  ;  and,  while  retaining  each  his  own  ecclesiastical  rela 
tions  and  preferences,  have  labored  side  by  side  in  loving  brotherhood.  The  Pres 
byterian  missionaries,  being  a  minority  of  the  whole  force,  will  perhaps  be  found  in 
the  minority  on  most  of  the  fields,  and  it  may  not  be  easy  to  separate  them. 

Still  it  is  confidently  believed,  that,  with  such  disposition,  as  we  may  expect  to 
find  on  the  part  of  our  missionary  brethren,  to  make  any  sacrifices  consistent  with 
higher  claims,  for  the  sake  of  completing  and  giving  strength  and  efficiency  for  the 
work  of  Christ  to  our  happy  reunion,  and  especially  with  the  co-operation  cheerfully 


APPENDIX.  561 

promised  to  the  Committee  of  the  Assembly  by  the  Prudential  Committee  in  their 
fifth  resolution,  such  a  proportion  as  will  on  the  whole  "  satisfactorily  represent  the 
interest  of  that  part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  which  has  hitherto  co-operated  with 
the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  in  the  prosecution  of  the  common  enterprise,"  may  be,  with 
the  concurrence  of  all  parties,  withdrawn  and  transferred.  Indeed,  we  are 
assured,  by  some  well  entitled  to  express  an  opinion,  that  several  of  the  missions, 
among  which  are  one  or  two  of  the  choicest  and  most  valuable  fields  in  the  whole 
missionary  domain,  are  already  predisposed  to  the  transfer,  and  may,  with  pru 
dence  and  the  manifestation  of  a  liberal  spirit  on  our  part,  be  soon  gathered  under 
the  new  banner  of  the  reunited  Presbyterian  Church. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that,  to  most  of  us,  who  have  so  long  been  accustomed  to 
identify  almost  the  American  Board  with  the  cause  of  missions  itself,  with  whom 
the  very  name  of  that  Board  has  been  a  name  of  honor  and  household  affection 
from  our  infancy,  the  sundering  of  the  sacred  tie  will  be  a  painful  process.  Indeed 
we  cannot,  while  we  live,  cease  to  honor  and  love  and  pray  for  the  prosperity  of 
that  good  old  mother  of  American  missions  among  the  unevangelized  nations. 
But  why  should  churches,  or  missionaries,  or  individual  members,  at  a  crisis  like 
the  present,  hesitate  to  dissolve  one  sacred  tie  for  the  sake  of  perfecting  another,  to 
which  the  providence  of  God  so  manifestly  and  wonderfully  points  us? 

With  these  views,  the  Committee  would  respectfully  recommend  to  the  Assem 
bly  either  to  continue  them  in  service,  or  appoint  some  other,  as  they  may  see 
fit,  with  instructions  to  pursue  the  negotiations  already  begun,  and,  with  the  con 
currence  of  the  Prudential  Committee,  make  arrangements  for  the  transfer  to  the 
Assembly's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  now  about  to  be  constituted,  such  portions 
of  the  missions  of  the  American  Board  as,  on  the  principles  which  are  herein  ex 
pressed,  may  and  ought  to  be  so  transferred. 

In  conclusion,  they  would  beg  leave  simply  to  remind  the  Assembly,  and  through 
them  the  churches  hitherto  co-operating  with  the  American  Board,  that  the  finan 
cial  year,  for  which  the  Assembly  of  the  New  School  at  Pittsburg,  last  Novem 
ber,  made  provision  for  the  continuance  of  contributions  to  that  Board,  does  not 

end  till  some  time  in  the  month  of  August  next. 

J.  F.  STEARNS,  Chairman. 

8.  THE  JOINT  COMMITTEE  ON  RECONSTRUCTION  AND  CON 
SOLIDATION,  APPOINTED  NOVEMBER,  1869,  AND  REPORT 
ING  IN  MAY,  1870.  REFERRED  TO  ON  PAGES  422,  432. 

[From  the  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Conference,  1869.] 

2.  This  Committee  recommends  that  a  Special  Committee  of  five  from  each 
branch  of  the  Church  shall  be  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  affairs  of 
each  of  the  Boards  and  Committees  of  both  branches  of  the  Church,  and  to  re 
commend  to  the  Assembly  of  the  united  Church,  next  to  be  held,  what  changes  are 
required  in  said  Boards  and  Committees. 

3.  That  each  Assembly  shall  also  pass  the  following :    Whereas,  it  is  apparent 

36 


562  PEESBYTEEIAN   REUNION. 

from  the  size  of  the  two  Assemblies  that  some  changes  must  be  made  in  the  pres 
ent  method  of  representation ;  therefore,  Resolved,  That  each  of  the  Assemblies 
of  1869  shall  appoint  a  Committee  of  five,  to  constitute  a  joint  committee  of  ten, 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  prepare  and  propose  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
united  Church  a  proper  adjustment  of  the  boundaries  of  the  Presbyteries  and 
Synods,  and  the  ratio  of  representation,  and  any  amendments  of  the  Constitution 
which  they  may  think  necessary  to  secure  efficiency  and  harmony  in  the  administra 
tion  of  the  Church,  so  greatly  enlarged,  and  so  rapidly  extending. 

[From  the  Old  School  Assembly.] 

1.  The  Committee  on  Reconstruction,  to  define  boundaries  of  Presbyteries  and 
Synods,  etc.,  etc.  —  Rev.  G.  W.  Musgrave,  D.D.,  Rev.  Charles  C.  Beatty,  D.D., 
Rev.  Cyrus  Dickson,  D.  D.     Ruling  Elders,  Henry  Day  and  W.  M.  Francis. 

2.  On  Foreign  Missions. —  Rev.   John  C.   Lowrie,  D.D.,  Rev.   William  M. 
Paxton,  D.D.,  Rev.    S.  F.   Scovel,  D.D.     Ruling  Elders,  John  13.  Skinner  and 
Martin  Ryerson. 

3.  On    Domestic    Missions. —  Rev.    G.   W.     Musgrave,    D.D.,   Rev.    D.    A. 
Cunningham  Rev.   D.  McKinney,  D.D.,  Rev.  J.  T.  Backus,  D.D.,  and   Ruling 
Elder  H.  D.  Gregory. 

4.  On  Publication.—  ^.^.    W.    E.  Schenck,  D.U.,  Rev.  W.  P.  Breed,  D.  D., 
Rev.  E.  R.   Craven,  D.D.      Ruling  Elders,  George  Junkin  and  John  T.  Nixon. 

5.  On  Education.—  Rev.    William  Speer,  D.D.,  Rev.  S.  J.  Niccolls,  D.D., 
Rev.  S.  C.  Logan,  Rev.  George  Hill,  D.D.,  and  Ruling  Elder  R.  S.  Kennedy. 

6.  On  Church  Extension.—  Rev.  H.  R.  Wilson,  D.D.,  Rev.  A.  A.  E.  Taylor, 
Rev.  Oscar  A.  Hills.     Ruling  Elders,  J.  C.  Havens  and  Jesse  L.  Williams. 

7.  On  Disabled  Ministers'1  Fund.  — Rev.   George  Hale,  D.D.,  Rev.  Alexan 
der  Reed,    D.D.,   Rev.   T.    H.   Skinner,  Jr.,  D.D.      Ruling  Elders,    Robert 
Carter  and  A.  B.  Belknap. 

8.  On  Freedmen.—  Kev.    A.    C.    McCleland,    Rev.    E.    E.    Swift,    Rev.   A. 
McLean.     Ruling  Elders,  John  McArthur  and  J.  E.  Brown. 

9.  The  Committee  to  raise  Funds. —  Rev.  John  Hall,   D.D.,  of  New  York, 
Rev.  C.  K.  Imbrie,  D.D.      Ruling  Elders,  Winthrop  S.  Gilman,   Sr.,  Robert 
McKnight,  and  Hovey  K.  Clarke. 

[From  the  New  School  Assembly.] 

i.  ON  RECONSTRUCTION  : 

Rev.  Samuel  W.  Fisher,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Rev.  Robert  W.  Patterson,  D.D., 
Rev.  Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  D.D.,  Rev.  Conway  P.  Wing,  D.D.,  and  Rev. 
Joseph  F.  Tut  tie,  D.D. 

z.  ON  RAISING  FUNDS  : 

Hon.  William  E.  Dodge,  Hon.  William  Strong,  Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns, 
D.D.,  Rev.  William  H.  Goodrich,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  Charles  Hawley,  D.D. 


APPENDIX.  563 

3.  ON  HOME  MISSIONS  : 

Rev.    William   Adams,   D.D.,    Rev.    Henry  Kendall,    D.D.,   Rev.    Arthur 
Mitchell,  Hon.  Henry  W.  Williams,  LL.D.,  and  Hon.  Jacob  Farrand. 

4.  ON  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  : 

Rev.  Henry  A.  Nelson,  D.D.,  Rev.  Robert  R.  Booth,  D.D.,  Rev.  Franklin 
A.  Noble,  Hon.  Joseph  Allison,  LL.D.,  and  Mr.  Isaac  Scarritt. 

5.  ON  EDUCATION  : 

Rev.  James  P.  Wilson,  D.D.,  Rev.  John  G.  Atterbury,  D.D.,  Rev.  Edward 
D.  Morris,  D.D.,  Mr.  Alexander  Whilldin,  and  Mr.  Truman  P.  Handy. 

6.  ON  PUBLICATION  : 

Rev.  Zephaniah  M.   Humphrey,  D.D.,  Rev.  J.   Glentworth  Butler,  .D.D., 
Rev.  John  W.  Dulles,  Mr.  James  M.  Brawner,  and  Hon.  John  S.  Knight. 

7.  ON  CHURCH  ERECTION  : 

Mr.  George  W.  Lane,  Rev.  Frank  F.  Ellinwood,  D. D.,  Rev.  Cornelius  H. 
Taylor,  D.D.,  Mr.  Oliver  H.  Lee,  and  Mr.  Samuel  T.  Bodine. 

8.  ON  MINISTERIAL  RELIEF  : 

Rev.   Thomas   J.   Shepherd,  D.D.,   Rev.   Charles   Brown,  Rev.  James   B. 
Shaw,  D.D.,  Hon.  Charles  Noble,  and  Mr.  Robert  W.  Steele. 

9.  ON  FREEDMEN  : 

Rev.    Samuel  M.    Hopkins,  D.D.,  Rev.    Edwin  F.    Hatfield,   D.D.,   Rev. 
Herrick  Johnson,  D.D.,  Mr.  William  Thaw,  and  Mr.  Joseph  W.  Edwards. 


STATISTICS     OF     THE      CHURCH     FOR     THE    YEAR     ENDING 

MAY,  1870. 

Synods 51 

Presbyteries 259 

Candidates 541 

Licentiates 338 

Ministers 4*238 

Licensures,  reported 141 

Ordinations,  reported 93 

Installations,   reported 247 

Dissolutions  of  pastoral  relations,  reported 224 

Ministers  received  from  other  bodies,  reported 44 

Ministers  dismissed  to  other  bodies,  reported 16 

Ministers  deceased 73 

Churches 4>52§ 

Churches  organized,  so  far  as  reported 133 

Churches  dissolved,  so  far  as  reported 33 

Churches  received  from  other  bodies,  so  far  as  reported 14 


564  PRESBYTEEIAN   REUNION. 


Churches  dismissed  to  other  bodies,  so  far  as  reported 10 

Added  to  the  churches  on  examination 32,003 

Added  to  the  churches  on  certificate 21,447 

Whole  number  of  communicants 446,561 

Baptisms  of  adults 10,122 

Baptisms  of  infants 16,476 

Sabbath-school  membership 448,857 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

Home  missions,  so  far  as  reported $366,274 

Foreign  missions 328,847 

Education 246,898 

Publication 42,040 

Church  erection 210,939 

Ministerial  relief 53,832 

Freedmen v 51)845 

General    Assembly 32,645 

Congregational 6,416,165 

Miscellaneous 690,636 


Sum  total $8,440,121 


STATISTICS    OF     THE    SOUTHERN    PRESBYTERIAN     CHURCH 
FOR   1869   AND    1870. 

1869.  1870. 

Synods  in  connection  with  the  General  Assembly 1 1  1 1 

Presbyteries 54  55 

Ministers 857  840 

Licentiates 49  53 

Candidates 124  161 

Churches 1,460  1,469 

Licensures 21  16 

Ordinations , 18  14 

Installations 36  52 

Pastoral  relations  dissolved 33  40 

Churches  organized 28  33 

Churches  dissolved 6  14 

Members  added  on  examination 4>47O  5,048 

Members  added  on  certificate 2,710  2,851 

Total  number  of  communicants 79,961  82,014 

Adults  baptized 1,160  I>529 

Children  baptized 3>37&  3>555 

Children  in  Sabbath  schools  and  Bible  classes 42,284  47,317 

Amount  contributed  to  sustentation $38,814  $49,002 

Amount  contributed  to  foreign  missions 18,657  23,269 

Amount  contributed  to  education 33, 191  34,209 

Amount  contributed  to  publication 7,900  10,279 

Amount  contributed  for  presbyterial  purposes 10, 115  12.247 

Amount  contributed  for  congregational  purposes 605, 164  676,432 

Amount  contributed  for  miscellaneous  purposes 60,559  66,917 

Whole  amount  contributed 774,400  872,355 

Churches  not  reporting  number  of  members 215  206 


INDEX. 


A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  S55- 
ADAMS,  W.,  66,  254,  309. 

Address  of,  before  O.   S.  Assembly, 

'69,  3°°,  337,  3?8,  389.  447,  5i3- 
ANNAN,  R.,  165. 
ATWATER,  L.  H.,  309,  337,  350. 
ABEEL,  John  N.,  105. 
ADVERTISING  Sermons,  208. 
ALEXANDER,  A.,  no,  190. 
H.  C.,  116. 
J-  A.,  117. 
J.  \V.,  115,  162. 
S.  D.,  118. 

ALLEN  STREET  CHURCH,  N.  Y.,  218. 
AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY,  41. 
AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIAN,  The,  97. 
ASSEMBLY,  GENERAL,  o    1837,  5,  13  ;  '38, 
5  :    '39,  55,  59,  199  :  '4°,  i°,  55  :  '42,  16 ;  '45, 
14  ;  '46,   15,  55,  62,  So ;  '47,  63,  65  ;  '49,   15, 
65,  81  ;  '50,  81  ;  '51,  65  ;  '52,  15,  65  ;  '53,  81  ; 
'54,  16 ;  '57,  77,  82,  185  ;  '60,  78,  186 ;  '61,  15, 
28,  84  ;  '62,  15,  85,  249  ;  '63,  32,  249  ;  '64,  15, 
22,  89,  250,  535  ;  '66,  251  ;  '67,  89,   193  ;  '68, 
269  ;  '69,  297,  316,  373  ;  '70,  416. 
ASSEMBLY,  Triennial,  7. 
AITKEN,  R.,  164. 
ALLISON,  J.,  254,  375. 


BACKUS,  J.  C.,  443,  444- 

J.  T.,  254,  421,  446,  506. 
BALCH,  Dr.,  165. 
BALDWIN,  John  C.,  93. 

Theron,  94. 

BARNES,  A.,  229.     " 
BLACKBURN,  G.,  209. 
BRAINERD,  T.,  227,  254. 
BEATTY,  C.  C.,  254,  292,  300,  342,  383,  446, 

505- 

O.,  254,  524. 
BEECHER,  L.,  223. 

D.,  223. 

H.  W.,  190. 
BEMAN,  N.  S.  S.,  66. 
BENEVOLENCE,  Systematic,  16. 
BIBLE  SOCIETY,  41,  131. 

First  in  U.  S.,  106. 
BIBLICAL  REPOSITORY,  222. 
BIBLIOTHECA  SACRA,  222. 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES,  O.  S.,  103. 
N.   S.,  196. 
BRECKINRIDGE,  R.  J.,  17,  35. 

John,  122. 
BRICK  CHURCH,  Joint  Prayer-Meeting  in, 

298,  331,  339,  360. 
BOARDMAN,  H.  A.,  186. 
BOARDS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  44. 
BOHEMIA,  Evangelical  Church,  362. 
BOOK  OF  DISCIPLINE,  42. 
BOWLING,  Miss,  167. 


BOYD,  A.  H.  H.,  27. 

BROADWAY  TABERNACLE,  N.  Y.,  235. 

BROOKS,  EMMA.,  194. 

BROWN,  F.  T.,  254,  511. 

W.  H.,  254,  266. 
BULLARD,  A.,  72,  237. 
BURNS,  Dr.,  19. 


CAMPBELL,  J.  N.,  164. 

the  Missionary,  26. 
CANNON,  Dr.,  189. 
CARLINVILLE,  210. 
CARLISLE,  235. 
CARTER,  R.,  292,  309,  337,  402. 
CATECHISM,  482. 
CHALMERS,  W.,  19. 
CHAMBERS,  Ellen  D.,  181. 
CLARK,  L.,  252. 
CLARKE,  H.  K.,  254,  522. 

Charles  J.,  380. 

Robert  A.,  380. 
CENTRE  "COLLEGE,  210. 
CHESTER,  Dr.,  186. 
CREE,  T.  A.,  380. 
CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE,  107. 
CINCINNATI,  223,  228. 
COGSWELL,  Catharine,  186. 

COLLEGE  OF  N.  J.,  107. 
COLONIZATION  SOCIETY,  41. 
COLUMBUS,  O.,  249. 
COMMITTEE  AD  INTERIM,  59. 
CONCURRENT  DECLARATIONS  OF  '69, 

CONFERENCE,  COMMITTEE  OF,  '69, 298, 

CONFERENCE    COMMITTEE,   Report  of, 
'69,  309. 

CONFESSION  OF  FAITH,  59. 

CONGREGATIONALISM,    Disappears  from 
the  Old  School,  n. 

CONVENTION,      PRESBYTERIAN     NA 
TIONAL  UNION  OF  '67,  47,  263. 

CORNELIUS,  Dr.,  238. 

COX,  S.  H.,  200. 

COVENANT,  Church  of,  331. 

Joint    Prayer-meeting    in,    343, 

357- 

CHURCH  ERECTION,  72,  75,  244,  441. 
CHURCH  EXTENSION,  464. 
CHURCH    MEMBERS,    Dismission    to    the 

world,  41. 
CUNNINGHAM,  Dr.,  19. 


DARLING,  W.,  68. 
DAY,  H.,  292,  309,  337,  361,  376,  399. 
DRAKE,  C.  D.,  309,  337,  398. 
DECLARATION  AND  TESTIMONY,  34. 
DECLARATIONS,  Concurrent,  50. 


566 


INDEX. 


DELAWARE  COLLEGE,  202. 
DETROIT,  235. 
DETROIT  RESOLUTION,  81. 
DICKINSON,  R.  W.,  181. 
DICKSON,  Cyrus,  421. 
DILWORTH,  Joseph,  380. 
DISABLED  MINISTERS'  FUND,  SECRE 
TARY  appointed,  15. 
DWIGHT,  T.  W.,  259- 
DOCTRINE,  differences  as  to,  5. 
DOCTRINAL  TRACTS,  Committee  on,  92. 
DODGE,  W.  E.,  300,  309,  338,  383,  400,  448. 
DUFFIELD,  G.,  231. 


EDUCATION,  15,  69,  91,  z8s,  438. 
ELDERS,  Ruling,  16. 

Rotation  in  office  of,  18,  472. 
ENGLES,  W.,  161,  162,  174. 

Mary,  168. 

ELLIOTT,  David,  383,  421,  528: 
ELY,  E.  S.,  165,  205. 
ERVINA,  206. 

EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE,  20,  27,  368. 
EVANGELIST,  NEW  YORK,  72,  97. 
EXTEMPORE  PREACHING,  487. 


FARRAND,  J.  S.,  266,  309,  338,  527. 
FRANCIS,  W.  M.,  309,  337. 
FREEMAN,  the  Missionary,  26. 
FREEDMEN,  442. 
FISHER,  S.,  198. 

S.  W.,  68,  309,  338. 
FOOTE,  John  A.,  375. 

FOREIGN  MISSIONS,  92, 434. 
FORM  OF  GOVERNMENT,  59. 
FOWLER,  P.  H.,  68,  254,  378,  418,  516. 

FOX,  P.,  188. 

FULTON    STREET   PRAYER-MEETING, 

26. 
FUND,  MEMORIAL,  385,  453. 


GALLOWAY,  S.,  254,  521. 

GRAY,  J.,  168. 

GENERAL  ASSEMBLY,  Confederate  Stales, 

GERMAN  PHILOSOPHY,  217. 
GESENIUS,  221. 
GREEN,  A.,  103,  160. 
H.  W.,  259. 

GILBERT,  E.  W.,  198,  201. 
GILPIN,  H.  D.,  169. 
GRIER,  M.  B.,  162. 

J-  C.,  309,  337. 
GRIFFIN,  E.  D.,  174,  205. 
GURLEY,  P.  D.,  35,  188,  252,  254. 
GURLEY  AMENDMENT,  The,  Circumstan 
ces  of  its  introduction,  267,  324. 


HAGEMAN,  John  F.,  122. 
HAINES,  D.,  259,  309,  338. 
HALL,  A.  G.,  309,  337. 

John,  3,  48,  369.  383.  395- 
HAMILTON  COLLEGE,  93,  213,  220. 
HANDY,  T.  P.,  254,  525. 
HARPER  AND  BROTHERS,  173. 
HATFIELD,  E.  F.,  65,  254,  421,  514. 
HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM,  454. 
HERRON,  William  A.,  380. 
HILL,  W.,  206. 
HISTORICAL    Review    of   the  Church,   Old 

School,  i  ;  New  School,  50. 
HITCHCOCK,  H.  L.,  254,  517. 
HODGE,  C.,  186,  262,  264. 
HOLMES,  Sarah  H.,  181. 
HOME  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY,  58,  73. 


HOME  MISSIONS,  Committee  of,  80,  91,  432. 
HOWARD,  W.  D.,  254,  507. 
HUMPHREY,  Z.  M.,  375. 
HYDE,  Dr.,  198. 


IRISH  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY,  21. 


JACOBUS,  M.  W.,  344,  359,  376,  385,  530. 
JANEWAY,  Jacob  J.,  106. 
JEFFERSON  COLLEGE,  207. 
JESSUP,  W.,  68,  245. 
JOHNSON,  the  Missionary,  26. 

Dr.,  190. 

JOINT  COMMUNION  SEASON,  360. 
JOINT  COMMITTEE,  392. 
JONES,  C.  C.,  22. 

J.  H.,  156. 

JUBILEE  THANKSGIVING,  14. 
JUDD,  G.  N.,  206. 
JUNKIN,  D.  X.,  191. 
G.,  142. 


KREBS,  J.  M.,  170,  178,  254,  505. 
KENT,  Chancellor,  63. 
KINGSLEY,  Ezra  M.,  421. 
KNIGHT,  J.  L.,  309,  338. 
KNOX,  J.  H.  M.,  504. 


LAMBERT,  E.  A.,  254,  526. 

LAKE  FOREST  INSTITUTION,  95. 

LANE  SEMINARY,  58,  96. 

LEAVITT,  H.  H.,  291. 

LEWIS,  G.,  19. 

LINCOLN,  Abraham,  31,  90,  193. 

LIND,  J.,  179. 

LITURGY,  42. 

LORD,  D.,  259. 

W.,  309,  337. 
LOUISVILLE,    Presbytery    of,   "  Declaration 

and  Testimony,  "  34,  35. 
LYON,  G.  A.,  68. 


MAGIE,  D.,  137,  200. 
MANSES,  42- 

MARRIAGE,  action  of  Assembly,  40. 
MARIETTA  COLLEGE,  95. 
MARYSVILLE  COLLEGE,  93. 
MASON,  John,  68. 

John  M.,  173,  203. 

E.,  198,  202. 
MAYNARD,  H.,  68. 
McLEOD,  Norman,  366. 
MEMORIAL  FUND,  385,  453. 
METHODISTS,  Welsh  Calvinistic,  361. 

Preachers'  Meeting,  362. 
MIAMI  UNIVERSITY,  244. 

MCKNIGHT,  R.,  254, 291, 3oo,  343, 520. 

MILLER,  S.,  119. 
MILLENAR1ANISM,   40. 
MILLS,  H.,  2x5. 

T.  A.,  63,  65,  67. 

MINISTERIAL  RELIEF,  92,  160,  442. 
MINISTRY,  Demission  of,  40. 
MISSIONS,  HOME,  14,  70. 
MISSIONS,  FOREIGN,  13. 
McCORKLE,  W.  A.,  234. 
McCORD,  John  D.,  380. 
McCORMICK,  C.  H.,  25. 
McCOY,  S.  F.,  421. 

MCDOWELL,  j.,  i33, 175. 

W.,  141. 

MODERATOR  of  O.  S.  Assembly  of '69,  336 
ofN.  S.  Assembly,  of '69,  337 
MONFORT,  J.  G.,  254,  291,  506. 


ESTDEX. 


567 


MORRISTOWN,  198,  211. 
MOREHEAD,  Gen.  J.  K.,  380. 
McMULLEN,  the  Missionary,  26. 
MURRAY,  N.,  172. 
J.,  172. 

MUSGRAVE,  G.  W.,  300,  337,  342,  377, 
speech  of,  in  1869,  541. 


NEANDER,   221. 

NEILL,  W.,  128. 

NELSON,  H.  A.,  254,  518. 

NEWARK,  198,  211,  250. 

NEW  SCHOOL  test  their  title,  8. 

NEW  SCHOOL,  Did  not  desire  the  separation 

of '37,  Si- 
efforts  for  reunion,  57. 

NEW  YORK,  Social  Entertainment,  '69,  299. 
NISBET,  Dr.,  120. 
NOTT,  E.,  124,  166. 


OGDEN,  J.,  68. 

OLD  SIDE  AND  NEW  SIDE,  4. 

OLD  SCHOOL  AND  NEW  SCHOOL,  Rela 
tive  strength  in  '37,  7. 

OLD  SCHOOL  AND  NEW  SCHOOL,  Suit 
at  law  between,  8. 

OLD  SCHOOL  AND  NEW  SCHOOL,  Dif 
ference  between,  9. 

OVERTURING  to  the  Presbyteries,  353. 


PARIS,  Ky.,  243. 

PASTORAL  LETTER,  372. 

PARTY  NAMES,  i,  214. 

PASTORS,  473. 

PATERSON,  199. 

J.,  206. 

PATTERSON,  J.,  228. 

R.  W.,  68,  254,  309,  338,  351, 

518. 
W.,  182. 

PRAYER,  Day  of,  312,  372. 

PERMANENT    COMMITTEE    ON    FOR 
EIGN  MISSIONS,  92. 

PETERS,  A.,  206,  330. 

PEORIA,  32,  249. 

PRENTISS,  George  L.,  452. 

PRESBYTERIAN      NATIONAL     UNION 
CONVENTION,  324. 

PRESBYTERIAN     PUBLISHING     COM 
MITTEE,  92. 

PRESBYTERIAN     QUARTERLY     RE 
VIEW,  97. 

PRESBYTERIAN,  The,  116, 162. 

PRESIDENT  of  the  U.  S.,  Letter  to,  86. 
Reply,  87. 

PHILADELPHIA,  First  Presbyterian  Church, 

PHILLIPS,  W   W.,  j53,  163. 

PITTSBURG  Circular,  326. 

PINK  STREET  CHURCH,  Phil'a,  228. 

PRIME,  S.  J.,  291. 

PRINCETON  COLLEGE,  215,  534. 

PRINCETON  SEMINARY,  23,  26. 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGY,  12. 

PORTER,  W.  M.,  270. 

POSTLETHWAITE,  M.,  170. 

POTTS,  A.,  171. 

G.,  168. 

G.  C.,  168. 

PROGRESS,  HUMAN,  2. 
PROTEST  OF  1868,  Answer  to,  285. 
PUBLICATION,  13,  435. 
PLUMER,  Dr.,  186. 
PLUMLEY,  G.  S.,  383. 
PROTEST,  Answer  to,  285. 


RAY,  J.  M.,  254,  519. 

Samuel,  380. 

REED,  V.  D.,  254,  292,  421,  509. 
REESE,  E.  J.,  176. 
REFORMED  CHURCH,  367. 
RECONSTRUCTION  of  the  Old   School   in 

'38,  12. 
Joint   Committee  on, 

422,  423,  561- 
RESOLUTIONS    in    New   School    Assembly 

relating  to  the  state  of  the  country,  85. 
REUNION  Committee  of  1866,  192,  254. 
REUNION  Committee  of   1866,  their  Report, 

256. 

REUNION  Committee,  their  Report  in '68,  270. 
REUNION  Committee,  Address  of,  Jan.  '69, 

294. 

REUNION  Committee,  Sketches  of,  504. 
REUNION,  Progress  of,  46. 

Preparation  for,  247. 

First  action  for,  250. 

Resolutions  of  '66,  252. 

Terms  of,  in  '68,  275. 

Plan  of,  310. 

Initiative  movement,  321. 

Social,  340. 

Vote  in  O.   S.  Assembly  '69,  354, 

N.   S.   Assembly,  410. 
Vote  of  the  Presbyteries  on,  374, 

REUNION   Reports   of  '68-9,    Difference  be 
tween,  313. 

REUNION  Certificate,  534. 
RICHARDS,  J.,  58,  198,  211. 
ROBINSON,  E.,  219. 

David,  380. 

ROCKWELL,  J.  E.,  266,  512. 
RODIGER,  221. 
RODGERS,  R.  K.,  376. 
ROMISH  BAPTISMS,  41. 
ROSS,  F.  A. ,27. 

J-,  165. 
RULING  ELDERS,  Theories  as  to,  17. 


SABBATH  SCHOOLS,  481. 
SHARSWOOD,  G.,  259. 
SHAW,  J.  B.,  254,  309,  338,  516. 
SLAVERY,  Doctrine  of  Old  School  on,  20. 

Relations  of  New  School  to,  80. 

Its  removal  aids  Reunion,  248. 
SLAYMAKER,  Faithful,  232. 
STARR,  F.,  245. 

STATISTICS  of  OLD  SCHOOL,  493. 

of  New  School,  500. 

of  Consolidated  Church,  563. 

of  the  Southern  Church,  564. 
SCHENCK,  W.  E.,  254,  508. 
SEPARATION,  Grounds  of,  4. 

Disadvantages     of,    to    New 

School,  53. 

SEWARD,  W.  H.,  88. 
SHEDD,  W.  G.  T,  285,  291. 
SPENCER,  A.,  166. 
STEARNS,  J.  F.,  254,  309,  335,  338,  330,  362, 

STEELE,  R.  W.,  254,  526. 
SCRIPTURES,  More  use  of  the,  480. 
SKINNER,  T.  H.,  235,  350. 
SINGING,  in  Public  Worship,  485. 
SMITH,  A.  D.,  67,  68,  218. 

H.  B.,  48,  251. 

Jos.,  148. 

SPRING,  Dr.  G.,  29,  173,  181,  199,  349,  360. 
SCOTLAND,  Free  Church  of,  4,  19,  383,  483. 
SOCIETIES,  VOLUNTARY,  43. 
SOCIAL  REUNION,  455. 


568 


INDEX. 


SOCIETY  for  promoting  Collegiate  and  Theo 
logical  Education  at  the  West,  94. 

SOUTHERN  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 
37,  363,  366,  447- 

ST.  LOUIS,  238,  251. 

STRONG,  G.  P.,  254,  523- 

W.,  259,  309,  338,  397. 

SYNODS  of  Kentucky  and  Missouri  divided, 

3°- 

STUART,  George  H.,  380,  383,  401. 
M. ,   220. 


TAYLOR,  S.,  68. 
THEOLOGY,  New  School,  100. 
THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARIES,  429. 

Allegheny,  24. 

Andover,  220. 

Auburn,  24,  58,  95,  211,  535. 

Chicago,  25. 

Columbia,  24. 

Danville,  25. 

Lane,  24,  58,  227. 

New  Albany,  24. 

Princeton,  23,  183,  189. 

Union,  24,  58,  204,  205,  218,  221. 

Union,  Va.,  24,  183. 

School  for  Germans,  97. 
THOLUCK,  Dr.,  221. 
THORNWELL,  J.  H.,  17,  28. 


UNION  COLLEGE,  189,  213. 
UNION  SEMINARY,  58,  96. 


UNITED  SYNOD  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT,  202. 

VAN  DYKE,  H.  J.,  448. 
VAN  RENSSELAER,  C.,  182. 
S.,  182. 

WARASH  COLLEGE,  94. 
WALKER,  R.  J.,  169. 
WALLACE,  Dr.,  80. 
WARE,  Dr.,  198. 

WASHINGTON  MONUMENT,  66. 
WEBSTER  COLLEGE,  240. 
WEEK  OF  PRAYER,  27. 
WESTERN  EDUCATION  SOCIETY,  69. 
WESTERN  RESERVE  COLLEGE,  94. 
WESTMINSTER  STANDARDS,  18. 
WESTERN  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  SO 
CIETY,   13. 
WESTON,  241. 
WHITE,  H.,  216. 

Preaching  of,  218. 
WILLIAMS,  H.,  254. 

H.  W.,  524. 
WILMINGTON,  201. 
WILSON,  Joseph  M.,  42. 

E.  T.,  167. 

H.  R.,  309,  337. 
WIRT,  W.,  166. 
WISWELL,  G.  F.,  266,  519. 
WOODBRIDGE,  N.  J.,  215. 
WYLIE,  S.  B.,  169. 
YALE  COLLEGE,  183. 


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